Panama City, April 11 (RHC) – Speaking at the plenary session today of the Summit of the Americas, regional leaders expressed their satisfaction with the new thaw of relations between the governments of Cuba and the United States.

Brazilian President Dilma Roussef praised the recent move by Cuban President Raul Castro and Us President Barack Obama to advance towards the reestablishment of diplomatic relations and expressed hope that more developments would come soon, including the lifting of Washington's economic blockade on Cuba.

The call to lift US economic sanctions on Havana was echoed by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who also urged the Obama administration to return the illegally occupied naval base in Cuba's eastern territory of Guantanamo.

The new dynamic in US-Cuba relations was also extolled by the presidents of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez, Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos and Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, who also welcomed Cuba's debut at the Summit of the Americas, as long overdue.