MIAMI, United States. – The Cuban dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel assured this Wednesday, in front of a representation of spokesmen of the Cuban regime, that he felt “honored” by his exclusion from the IX Summit of the Americas, an event to which Nicolás Maduro and Daniel were not invited. Ortega.
“We are honored to top that list. [de exclusiones] together with the leaders of Venezuela and Nicaragua and together with you, genuine representatives of our people. As we are honored by the gallant solidarity of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Lucho Arce, Xiomara Castro, the Caribbean leaders who have emphatically rejected exclusions and others who will surely do so during the Summit itself,” he said during his speech in the Palace of the Revolution.
He also described the hemispheric event as “discriminatory.”
“In the case of Cuba -he assured-, the exclusion was not only against the Government, but also against the representatives of civil society and social actors, including our young people. The United States is no longer satisfied with determining who and how the Cuban government should be; now they intend to define who are the representatives of civil society and which social actors are legitimate and which are not”.
In this regard, the United States Embassy in Havana reiterated this Tuesday that it had not denied any visa requests from Cuban activists to travel to the Summit of the Peoples, the parallel event to the IX Summit of the Americas.
“As hosts of the Summit of the Americas, we welcome the participation of civil society, and we are including independent voices in all aspects of the Summit”, tweeted the US diplomatic headquarters in Havana.
Washington yes denied the visa for 23 Cubans who would participate in the People’s Summit on behalf of the island’s regime. Among them were personalities selected by the ruling party, such as the scientist and doctor Tania Crombet Ramos; and the Olympic medalist in wrestling Reineris Salas Pérez, among others.
“On the exclusive and discriminatory nature of the event that will take place between June 8 and 10 in Los Angeles, the Revolutionary Government has already made a firm statement,” Díaz-Canel said on Wednesday.
Likewise, he predicted that in a few hours it could be confirmed “what will be achieved or what proposals will be made in Los Angeles, beyond the inaugural pomp and the photo of the host president with those who attend.”
Although Díaz-Canel avoided referring to the subject, his government prevented the participation of various representatives of Cuban civil society in the Summit of the Peoples. Last Monday it transpired that the journalist Henry Constantín, director of Cuban Time.
Shortly before, last Sunday, the regime also prevented from leaving the country of the journalist CubaNet Maria Matienzo Puerto; and the previous Friday, State Security prevented activist Aimara Peña from traveling to Havana. She was supposed to board a plane to the United States to attend the People’s Summit.
Likewise, the activist and entrepreneur from Santa Clara Saily González Velázquez was prevented from attending the hemispheric event.
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