United States President Joe Biden at the White House. Photo by AP
USA will not invite in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela at the Summit of the Americas in June, U.S. head of diplomacy for the region Brian Nichols said Monday.
“At an important moment in our hemisphere, we face many challenges for democracy” and Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela “they do not respect the Democratic Charter of the Americas and therefore I did not expect his presence, ”Nichols said in an interview with NTN24.
Asked if Washington would invite the Cuban government, which attended the 2015 summit in Panama, Nichols replied: “No.” “It’s a decision of the president (Joe Biden) but I think it’s very clear that (…) countries that don’t respect democracy through their actions will not accept invitations,” he added.
Last week, Cuba denounced that the United States excluded it preparing for the summit, calling it a “historic setback” for the Biden administration.
Cuban president Miguel Díaz Canel and former Army president and general Raúl Castro. Photo of Xinhua
Background
These three countries are already on the list of those not included in the region for the Democracy Summit held in December in Washington, along with Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Haiti.
Relations between the United States and Cuba have become more tense since Washington described as a “wave of oppression” after the July 2021 protests on the island, which resulted in one death, dozens of injuries and 1,395 detainees according to the latest numbers by the Miami-based NGO, Cubalex.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Photo by Reuters
Cuba blames the United States for being behind these protests, llargest since the victory of the revolution in 1959.
On the other hand, the Biden government does not recognize the presidents of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, considering that they were elected in undemocratic elections.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
