WASHINGTON, CMC – A major think tank here is urging the Obama Administration to quickly adopt three important initial steps that would “trigger a speedy rapprochement” with the Spanish-speaking nation.

In its latest report, the Washington-based Council of Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) urged Washington to “immediately phase out the embargo, free the ‘Cuban five,’ and remove Havana from the spurious State Department roster of nations purportedly sponsoring terrorism.

“These measures should be seen as indispensable if Washington is to ever mount a credible regional policy of mutual respect among nations and adjust to the increased ideological diversity and independence of the Latin American and Caribbean regions,”