Obama Touts Clean Energy In Bid To Restore U.S. Leadership In Caribbean

"KINGSTON - President Barack Obama on Thursday unveiled a major clean energy partnership at a Caribbean summit where he sought to reassert U.S. leadership in the region at a time when the economic clout of oil-producing Venezuela appears to be receding.

The White House used the occasion to announce an important step towards healing its five-decade-old rift with Cuba, saying the State Department has completed a review of whether to remove the communist-ruled island from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The review is being studied by the White House, and a green light for Havana's removal would open the door to the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba after 54 years."

Matt Spetalnick reports for Reuters April 9, 2015.