Clinton Departs Honduras

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton emerged from talks with the foreign ministers of nine North and South American countries having failed to hash out a compromise that would give Cuba a path to membership, provided its government accepted democratic principles.

“At this moment, there is no consensus, and there is no agreement to take any action,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters just before leaving Honduras to fly to Cairo for President Obama’s speech to the Islamic world on Thursday.

One after another, the leaders stepped forward to demand that the 47-year-old suspension of Cuba’s membership be lifted immediately.

“We cannot leave San Pedro Sula without correcting that other day that will live in infamy,” said President José Manuel Zelaya of Honduras, referring to the organization’s meeting in 1962 at which Cuba was banned.

“Our brothers and sisters in Cuba,” Mr. Zelaya said, “have been suffering for so long as a result of the blockade that has been imposed by one of the most powerful economies in the world.”

The United States has insisted that the Cuban government demonstrate it is ready to uphold the democratic principles enshrined in a 2001 charter adopted by the Organization of American States.

American negotiators have agreed to lift the suspension, but to make Cuba’s participation contingent on its adherence to democratic principles. They would also require Cuba to petition for membership.

Nicaragua argued for lifting the suspension without conditions, while two resolutions by Honduras and other countries sought to find a middle ground.

Mrs. Clinton seemed tired but satisfied, she said, that the United States had moved the debate “very dramatically.”

President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, described the Cuban ban as an act of American imperialism. Mr. Ortega said Mr. Obama had “shown good will,” but he said the president was trapped by the policies of his predecessors. “The O.A.S. continues to be an instrument of domination of the United States,” he said. “That’s why this meeting took on a very deep meaning.”

Mrs. Clinton made this trip to reach out to Latin America’s new leaders. On Monday, she attended the presidential inauguration of a leftist leader in El Salvador, Mauricio Funes.


You must be logged in to post a comment Login