US bars Cuba, Venezuela from Americas summit; Mexican President, other leaders boycott

The decision to cut out Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua followed weeks of intense deliberations and was due to concerns about human rights and a lack of democracy in the three nations, a senior US official said. 

Washington/Mexico City: The White House on Monday excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the US-hosted Summit of the Americas this week, prompting Mexico`s president to make good on a threat to skip the event because all countries in the Western Hemisphere were not invited. 

The boycott by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and some other leaders could diminish the relevance of the summit in Los Angeles, where the United States aims to address regional migration and economic challenges. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, hopes to repair Latin America relations damaged under his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, reassert US influence and counter China`s inroads.

The decision to cut out Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua followed weeks of intense deliberations and was due to concerns about human rights and a lack of democracy in the three nations, a senior US official said. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the Biden administration "understands" Mexico`s position, but "one of the key elements of this summit is democratic governance, and these countries are not exemplars, to put it mildly."

Biden aides have been mindful of pressure from Republicans and some fellow Democrats against appearing soft on America`s three main leftist antagonists in Latin America. Miami`s large Cuban-American community, which favored Trump`s harsh policies toward Cuba and Venezuela, is seen as an important voting bloc in Florida in the November elections that will decide control of the US Congress, which is now in the hands of the Democrats.

Lopez Obrador told reporters that his foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, would attend the summit in his place. The Mexican president said he would meet with Biden in Washington next month, which the White House confirmed. "There can`t be a Summit of the Americas if not all countries of the American continent are taking part," Lopez Obrador said.