Chile Condemns US Exclusion of Countries from Summit of the Americas
Chile defended the right of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to participate in the Summit of the America, on the grounds that exclusion has not helped resolve human rights issues.
This Sunday, in an interview with the Chilean news outlet La Tercera, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Relations Antonia Urrejola highlighted her country’s call for the participation of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela in the 9th Summit of the Americas, which will take place in June, in the United States.
Urrejola noted how “the whole world knows where the president (Gabriel Boric of Chile) stands regarding the human rights situation in those countries, and in mine as well. But what we have been calling for in the bilateral conversations … is that hopefully this summit will have as wide an attendance as possible.”
Regarding disagreements about human rights issues, Urrejola said that this time of “post-pandemic, together with the economic crisis, is the time for a space of dialogue to be created beyond these differences.”
Urrejola described the Latin American continent as extremely fragmented and polarized in its relations with US president Joe Biden, and expressed her opinion that it is important to come closer together.
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She also added how, regardless of the attendance of countries potentially excluded from the summit, the government of Chile will be there.
The US announced on May 2 that it wouldn’t invite Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela to the summit, due to the fact that, in its eyes, “they don’t respect” democracy. In response, the countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) declared that they would not attend if this exclusion was actually carried out.
The Summit of the Americas hosts the governments of the countries of the American continent every three or four years. The US will host the 9th Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, an event which promises to focus on the construction of a “sustainable, resilient and equitable future” for the hemisphere.
Featured image: Chile’s Minister of Foreign Relations Antonia Urrejola speaks at an event. Photo: HispanTV.
(HispanTV)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL/EF
