The president of the United States, Joe Biden, will invite Cuba to the Summit of the Americas. Photo: AP
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, is considering inviting a Cuban representative to the Summit of the Americas, a U.S. official said on Friday, as a move to avoid the failure of this continental meeting , with the risk of collapsing due to a disagreement with the Guest List.
The invitation for the summit in Los Angeles, on June 8 and 9, will be addressed to an official of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will be to join as an observer, not a full participant. President Miguel Díaz Canel or Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez will not be invited.
It is unclear whether Cuba will accept the invitation, the U.S. official said, declining to identify the AP agency.
Shortly before the news was published, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a strong opponent of the Cuban regime, expected this in a tweet: “Biden will invite the #Cuba regime to the Summit of the Americas,” he wrote, without giving further explanation on the subject.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and the Cuban, Miguel Díaz-Canel, in Managua in January. Photo: EFE
tensions
The Summit of the Americas was held in the United States for the first time since 1994. But the meeting threatens to be a real failure for the Biden government because there are some presidents unwilling to appear if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited to the table.
Although the invitations have not yet been formally issued, the State Department has informed that the leaders of those regimes will not be invited because they are considering that. they violate democratic principles and human rights.
Some American countries already anticipate that they won’t go to the appointment if they don’t all show up.
The leader of the move was Mexican Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who said he would not go in person if not everyone would go and he would only send a representative.
Bolivia and Guatemala followed in their footsteps, as did several Caribbean countries. Nicaragua said it was not interested. Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, for his part, has threatened not to go because he is focused on his presidential campaign.
The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is requesting that all countries be invited to the Summit of the Americas. Photo: EFE
The position of Argentina
Argentine president Alberto Fernández, who is also the interim head of CELAC, advocates that no one be excluded from the meeting. But although she initially said she was going to Los Angeles, La Rosada spokeswoman Gabriela Cerutti, Fernández said Friday still checking whether you travel or not.
Faced with the possibility of resounding failure, the United States launched a diplomatic offensive. Biden’s special envoy, Christopher Dodd, met with López Obrador for several hours to try to convince him to go to the Summit, but there seemed to be no progress.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that the administration was having “honest and constructive talks” but declined to say more.
This possible invitation to a Cuban representative was written in this context and also included the flexibility of sending remittances to the island that was approved a few days ago.
This could be a way to open up this crisis, when there are only 20 days before the Summit. But perhaps this is very little gesture for the rebel countries.
Biden should move to a fine balance. While it should avoid the failure of the summit, any signal endorsing the regimes of Cuba or Venezuela could be harshly criticized by immigrants of those communities in Florida, where a fierce electoral battle is will be held this November.
Washington, correspondent
CB
Source: Clarin
