US President Joe Biden faces demands from senators of his own party to hold an inclusive Summit of the Americas. File photo.
Twelve Democrat Senators, led by the Chairman of the US House Committee on Foreign Relations, Greg Meeks, have asked the United States president Joe Biden to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas.
The request was made through an open letter, which was posted by AP journalist Joshua Goodman on his Twitter account.
12 Dems led by @HouseForeign chair Greg Meeks call on Biden to invite Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela to @SummitAmericas.
“While we may not support many of the actions taken by the governments…we believe a policy of engagement will yield more fruitful results than isolation.” pic.twitter.com/eu3iKO2Q0a
— Joshua Goodman (@APjoshgoodman) May 27, 2022
In the letter, the senators warn Biden about the consequences of a US policy of isolation that could ostracize countries that maintain good relations with the uninvited nations, that is, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
The letter stated that the senators “feel strongly that excluding countries could jeopardize future relationships throughout the region.” “While we may not support many of the actions taken by the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela,” wrote the senators, “we believe that a policy of engagement will yield more fruitful results than a continued policy of isolation.”
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“The Summit of the Americas is a special opportunity to gather as a region and provide a platform for open discussion,” the letter continued. “An invitation for Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to participate in this year’s Summit is not an endorsement of those countries’ vision or ideology. It is an invitation for engagement at a regional level that should be extended to every country in the Americas.”
The senators also mentioned that the presidents of Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Honduras, have already threatened not to participate in the summit unless all countries are invited, and that there has been an exhortation made by CARICOM and CELAC not to exclude any country from the event.
“If we are truly committed to addressing the complex regional challenges we face together as a hemisphere,” stated the senators, “the Summit must be inclusive in many ways, including we engage as good faith negotiators with countries that do not share our views.”
In favor of inclusion
On Wednesday, May 25, the Community of Caribbean States (CARICOM) reiterated its request for an inclusive 9th Summit of the Americas. The Summit is to take place from June 6 to 10 in Los Angeles, California.
Previously, on May 3, the Puebla Group and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) urged the Biden administration to hold a Summit without exclusion. “The Puebla Group asks the government of President Biden, the host of the next Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, in June, not to exclude the governments of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.”
According to the Puebla Group, leaving out the aforementioned countries, which have suffered “the social costs of the predatory impact of the COVID-19 virus” makes no sense, since COVID-19 will be one of the central themes of the Summit.
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‘They are afraid of Bolivarianism’
The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, considered the US position to be result of its fear of anti-imperialist voices.
“They are trying to exclude us because they are afraid of our anti-imperialist voice; they are afraid of the voice of Bolivarians,” said President Maduro. “They do not want the voice of Bolívar and Chávez to be present in the meeting. But whatever they do in Washington, the voices of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua will be heard in Los Angeles, in the great protests of the people.”
On May 19, the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, said that he would not participate in the Summit.
“It would seem that we are all colonies of the Yankee empire, that there is a king and that he decides when we meet,” stated the president of Nicaragua. “The king decides whom he invites. We cannot be asking the Yankee or begging him that we want to go to his Summit; no, we are not excited for his Summit, we are not interested.”
Se sabe que el gobierno de Estados Unidos concibió desde un inicio que la Cumbre de las Américas no fuera inclusiva.
Era su intención excluir a varios países, entre ellos #Cuba, a pesar del fuerte reclamo regional a que se le pusiera fin a las exclusiones. (1/4)
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) May 25, 2022
The President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz Canel, said that the Summit was conceived to be non-inclusive and assured that he would not attend “under any reason.”
“From the beginning,” wrote Díaz-Canel on Twitter, “the United States government conceived the Summit of the Americas as non-inclusive. The intention was to exclude several countries, including Cuba, despite the strong regional demand that the exclusions be ended.”
Featured image: US President Joe Biden faces demands from senators of his own party to hold an inclusive Summit of the Americas. File photo.
(Últimas Noticias) by Odry Farnetano
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
