Can Colombia's Santos Solve the Cuba Conundrum?

Santos' Cuba conundrum, in fact, revolved around the question of how strongly linked the Summit of the Americas is to the OAS and its Inter-American Democratic Charter. The charter mandates that OAS member states adhere to democratic norms like multi-party elections and free speech. During the past decade, Cuba and its leftist allies in the region, led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, argued that Cuba's 1962 suspension from the OAS was a cold-war anachronism and should be rescinded, especially since right-wing dictatorships like Augusto Pinochet’s in Chile were never suspended. At a 2009 gathering of the 35 OAS members in Honduras, the body did vote to let Cuba back in – as long as a "dialogue" was held on improving the country’s human rights. Cuba, as a result, refused readmission.