It is unlikely that, due to the political cut of his Government, Cuba will be invited and participate in the next Summit of the Americas, to be held in June, in Panama. According to Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America Brian Nichols, the White House has not issued invitations, but has clearly implied that Cuba will probably be excluded.
“The White House will determine which leaders are invited to the Summit of the Americas, and the White House has not yet issued invitations. I will point out that the Western Hemisphere is a part of the world that has a broad commitment to democracy, as reflected in the Inter-American Democratic Charter. And I think as we move forward, we’ll see countries that share that commitment to democracy as major participants at the summit,” said the senior State Department official, in a telephone press conference held on April 15.
The summits of the Americas, held at the initiative of Washington, usually invite members of the Organization of American States (OAS) from which Cuba was suspended from 1962 until 2009. But the island has not returned to occupy its seat.
In 2015, when Panama hosted a summit for the first time, although it was not invited, then-President Raúl received an invitation from then-US President Barack Obama for a meeting, which caused great impact in the region.
During the conversation, which lasted an hour, the leaders discussed bilateral issues in the heat of the resumption of relations at the ambassadorial level since the previous December. “Obviously, this is a historic meeting. We are now in a position to move forward on the road to the future,” Obama said.
This year’s summit was called in January by President Joe Biden.
“The Summit of the Americas is the only hemispheric gathering of leaders from the countries of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. The leadership of the United States in the Summit process highlights our deep and historic commitment to the peoples of the Western Hemisphere (Latin America),” said the president. it’s a statement.
