US lawmakers asked President Joe Biden to reconsider the exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the Summit of the Americas, warning that it could be detrimental to US interests in the region.
In a letter dated May 26, fifteen members of the House of Representatives, all from the Democratic Party, recorded their “concern that the omission of the governments of these three countries from the Summit could undermine the position of the United States in the region.”
“We strongly believe that the exclusion of countries could jeopardize future relations throughout the region and put at risk some of the ambitious policy proposals that his administration launched,” they wrote, referring to the Build Back Better World initiative, with which Biden seeks to counter Chinese influence in Latin America.
Led by Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; Jim McGovern, Chairman of the Rules Committee; and Barbara Lee, chair of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations of the Committee on Appropriations, the congressmen considered that “a policy of involvement will produce more fruitful results than a continuous policy of isolation.”
“An invitation to Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to participate in this year’s Summit is not an endorsement of the visions or ideologies of those countries,” they pointed out. It is an invitation to involvement at the regional level.”
“We hope that you will reconsider the omission of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from this year’s Summit of the Americas,” they finally said, indicating that they awaited a response.
