Cuba joins Rio group

Cuba has been formally accepted as a member of a regional group of Latin American countries known as the Rio Group.



The move is seen as a symbolic victory over American efforts to isolate the island.



Mexico, which currently holds the presidency of the Rio Group, said Cuba\'s entry at a regional summit in Brazil would strengthen the organisation.



Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said he hopes United States president-elect Barack Obama would end his country\'s decades-old embargo against Cuba.



The presence of Cuban president Raul Castro at the recently held summit was hailed as a sign of Latin America’s growing independence from the United States.



The Latin American leaders at their meeting blamed the global economic crisis on rich countries.