The Biden administration has not invited the governments of Venezuela and Nicaragua to the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Américas next month, a State Department official said on Thursday, amid the threat of an embarrassing boycott by some regional leaders.
By Reuters – Matt Spetalnick
May 26, 2022
Kevin O’Reilly, the U.S. summit coordinator, said it would be up to the White House to determine whether to invite Cuba to the June 6-10 meeting in Los Angeles but that Cuban civil society activists had been asked to attend.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on Twitter on Wednesday that “under no circumstances” would he go to the summit, accusing Washington of applying “brutal pressure” to ensure that it would not be inclusive.
Biden administration officials have scrambled to avoid a boycott threatened by some leaders, including Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are excluded.
López Obrador said on Thursday he would probably decide on Friday whether he will attend.
Possible snubs have raised the risk of unraveling a summit that U.S. President Joe Biden’s aides hoped would be a chance to reassert the United States’ influence in a region it is often accused of neglecting.
Seeking a way to mollify Lopez Obrador, Washington is considering inviting a lower-level Cuban representative as an observer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Asked by a Senate subcommittee whether the United States had invited anyone from the Cuban government, O’Reilly said: “That will be a decision for the White House.”
A senior State Department official said in April that Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were unlikely to be allowed to attend.
…
Read More: Reuters – U.S. says it is not inviting Venezuelan, Nicaraguan governments to Americas summit
…