Bolivarian Alliance in front of the Summit of the Americas 2:20
(CNN Spanish) --
The Summit of the Americas began in Los Angeles on Monday and the map of participating and absent presidents - because they were not invited or because they decided not to attend - takes shape.
The presence of the American leaders in the meeting organized by the government of President Joe Biden has been at the center of the discussions since the possible exclusion of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba from the event began.
It is no longer a possibility: the United States officially decided not to extend invitations to those leaders because it has "reservations about the lack of democratic space and the human rights situation" in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Several presidents of the region, including the Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had insisted that all countries should be part of the summit and made their participation conditional on this factor.
López Obrador is one of the leaders who will not be.
This is what we know about who will participate and who will not.
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The presidents who will attend the Summit of the Americas
Argentina
: President Alberto Fernández was another of those who spoke publicly about the need for all leaders to be invited to the summit and questioned their participation.
However, the Argentine president confirmed his participation to Biden himself, Télam reports, in the framework of a telephone conversation he had on Wednesday, June 1, in which a meeting between the two leaders was also agreed in Washington in July.
Brazil:
The Brazilian foreign minister confirmed to CNN that Jair Bolsonaro will participate in the summit and hopes to hold a bilateral meeting with Biden.
Canada
: Justin Trudeau will participate, according to a call he had with Biden in which, according to the White House, they discussed the summit and their shared goal of growth.
Chile
: President Gabriel Boric will also participate, as confirmed by his foreign minister at a press conference, who criticized the exclusion of Maduro, Díaz-Canel and Ortega, reported CNN Chile.
Costa Rica:
"Going to the summit is the right thing for our country," said President Rodrigo Chaves in an interview with Efe.
Colombia
: President Iván Duque confirmed his participation, according to the Efe report based on official sources.
In March, Duque had referred to the "magnificent opportunity" that the Summit of the Americas represented, which could suggest his participation, and more recently Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucía Ramírez said that the issue of democracy could not be "avoided" on the agenda, according to Efe.
Ecuador
: Guillermo Lasso, who recently met with Biden, confirmed his participation in the summit, according to a Reuters report.
Panama
: Laurentizo Cortizo confirmed in April to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he would participate in the meeting.
Paraguay
: Mario Abdo will participate in the summit, according to Efe, which cites the foreign minister of the country that currently holds the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur.
Peru
: Pedro Castillo asked Congress for permission to travel to the United States to the summit, reports Eefe.
Dominican Republic
: Luis Abinader confirmed his participation, according to the Efe report used by various media, and stated that he respected the decision of the United States, although his country will invite all the presidents when it hosts the Ibero-American Summit next year.
Those who will not participate in the summit
Bolivia
: President Luis Arce is one of those who confirmed that he will not participate after the refusal of the United States to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
Cuba
: He was not invited.
"I can assure you that in no case will I attend," President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote in a lengthy Twitter thread, stating that "from the beginning, the United States government conceived that the Summit of the Americas would not be inclusive."
Guatemala
: Alejandro Giammattei confirmed that he would not participate in the summit in the United States, who has criticized the recent re-election of his attorney general, Consuelo Porras.
"I said it and I repeat it to the ambassador of that nation that this country could be of this size (small), but that as long as I was president, this country was respected and its sovereignty is respected," he said.
Honduras
: The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, will not attend the Summit of the Americas that takes place in the city of Los Angeles, California, as confirmed to CNN by the communication team of the Presidential House.
Mexico
: President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed this Monday that he will not participate.
"I am not going to the Summit because not all the countries of the Americas are invited and I believe in the need to change the policy that has been imposed for centuries. Exclusion, wanting to dominate for no reason, not respecting sovereignty of the countries, the independence of each country,” said the president.
Nicaragua
: The United States did not invite President Daniel Ortega, who had already spoken out against the summit before his exclusion was confirmed.
"We are not interested in being at that summit," he said, "that summit does not exalt anyone... that summit dirty, muddy."
Venezuela
: The Biden government also did not invite the questioned president Nicolás Maduro, who has been vocal about his absence.
"In Venezuela we have a clear path: unity, inclusion, diversity, democracy and the right to build our own destiny. We reject the claims of excluding and discriminating against peoples at the Summit of the Americas," he wrote on Twitter.
Uruguay
: President Luis Lacalle Pou tested positive for covid-19 and will not be able to go to the Summit.
He had previously referred to his participation in a recent interview with the BBC, and received the US envoy this week, who "congratulated and thanked" the country for its "leadership towards a democratic region," according to the embassy.
El Salvador:
President Nayib Bukele will not attend.
Representing the country will be the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexandra Hill.
This article was originally published on May 31 and updated with recent information.
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