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The Biden administration rushes to prevent the boycott of the Summit of the Americas scheduled for next month

2022-05-24T11:06:13.050Z


The preparations for the Summit of the Americas, to be held in the US in June, are shrouded in controversy over the invitations.


Should Biden invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas?

2:51

(CNN) --

The participation of Latin American countries in the high-level regional summit remains unknown, a few weeks from the date scheduled for its celebration in California, amid record migration throughout the Western Hemisphere.

The so-called Summit of the Americas will be held in the United States in early June, which will be the ninth meeting of the countries of the region and the first time that the United States has hosted the meeting since 1994.

However, preparations have already been mired in controversy over the guest list, forcing US officials to try to smooth relations and casting doubt on the outcome of the meeting at a critical time for the hemisphere. .

  • López Obrador says the US is "very willing" to

    to invite all countries to the Summit of the Americas

Earlier this month, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said his country's participation will not be confirmed until the US invites all countries in the hemisphere, arguing that no country should be excluded from the summit. .

US officials have repeatedly said that the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela will not be invited to the summit because of their human rights record.

But in recent days, the administration has backtracked on some Trump policies related to Cuba and eased some energy sanctions on Venezuela, noting the importance of summit attendance and the importance of avoiding an embarrassing boycott by countries. key in a difficult political moment for President Joe Biden.

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"We are dialoguing, with the purpose of inviting everyone," López Obrador said at a press conference on Monday.

"At least they (the United States) have acted in a respectful manner, there has not been a total, blunt rejection."

"There are days left, I hope that this week we can inform, so as not to speculate, or with conjecture, leaks; once we have all the elements, we will establish our position here," added López Obrador.

An administration official told CNN that the Biden administration is evaluating options to incorporate "the voices of the Cuban, Venezuelan and Nicaraguan people into the Summit process."

If López Obrador skips the meeting and others follow suit, it would be a snub to the Biden administration, which has emphasized relations with Latin America and sought to strengthen ties as China makes inroads into the region.

Last week, the US and Mexico held talks on specific options for Mexico to attend the summit, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

Talks are ongoing and no decision has been made yet, the source said.

Former Sen. Christopher Dodd, who is serving as special adviser for the summit, led the discussions for the US side by phone last Wednesday, according to a White House official.

The discussions, the official said, were broad and included talk of assistance from Mexico.

There is still no public list of invitees to the Summit of the Americas

The first batch of invitations to the Summit of the Americas went out last week, according to the White House official, adding that the administration is considering other invitations.

The White House has not made the guest list public.

However, the continued comings and goings have cast doubts among US partners in the region about the effectiveness of the summit.

"It's a summit that is organized around talks between presidents or prime ministers," a senior Guatemalan official told CNN.

"The summit itself is important for it to happen, but it would be less successful if it's not at the highest level."

The list of countries that threaten to boycott the Biden summit 0:49

Before invitations were sent out, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said he would not attend the summit after the United States criticized the new appointment of his country's attorney general.

It is unclear if he will change his stance on him after the invitations are released.

Other Latin American countries, in addition to Mexico, have expressed their disagreement with the non-invitation of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, said on Twitter: "If all the nations are not there, it is not a Summit of the Americas."

Guatemala and Honduras have been part of Vice President Kamala Harris's portfolio that addresses the causes of migration.

In late January, Harris also attended Castro de Zelaya's presidential inauguration.

However, she has not addressed either country in preparations for the summit.

For his part, Argentine President Alberto Fernández said he would attend the summit, but echoed concerns about excluding countries.

It is not clear, however, whether the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, one of the largest countries in the hemisphere, will attend.

  • The Summit of the Americas returns to the US, its first host.

    Here, the keys to understand what it is and how it works

Bolivian President Luis Arce went further and said he would not participate if countries were excluded.

Matthew Rooney, director of the Institute Outreach and Strategic Partnerships at the George W. Bush Presidential Center, said it's not unusual for the summit to invite only Democratic leaders, but the setback in recent weeks speaks to the changing dynamics in the region.

"America should be able to invite whoever they want to their home and the other guests should be happy to be invited," Rooney told CNN.

"It sends a political signal that America's pulling power is not what it used to be and the strength of the summit's commitment to democracy is not what it used to be."

The migration problem

The summit comes at a time of mass migration in the Western Hemisphere.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 6 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants have fled the country.

Nicaraguans have also been increasingly migrant, as well as Haitians who moved to the region years ago.

Elements of a migrant protection pact are being circulated and discussed among the countries ahead of the summit, the senior Guatemalan official said.

The first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, visited Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama in recent days to "emphasize the importance of the partnership with the United States" before the June summit.

At the end of his trip to Latin America, Biden responded to a question about whether he was sure that the countries he visited would attend the Summit of the Americas.

"Every country I've visited said they would be there. I'm looking forward to it. It's in about 10 days," he said.

Asked if she is worried about boycott threats from some countries, she said: "I'm not worried. I think they will come."

CNN's Kate Bennett contributed to this report.

Joe BidenThe Summit of the Americas

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-05-24

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