US approaches Cuba and Venezuela to save Summit of the Americas: AMLO promised not to go if not invited | News from Mexico

Washington: President of the United States, Joe Biden, Decides to ease sanctions imposed on Cuba and Venezuela At a time when part of the region criticized his government for not inviting these two countries to attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas.

With less than a month left before the meeting, which will gather regional heads of state and government in Los Angeles from June 6-10, Biden is trying to avoid a possible boycott by the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Which other leaders will join.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced the return of commercial flights to Cuba outside Havana, cracking down on Limit sending remittances And reviving the family reunification program, as it is the first step towards the openness towards the island, which he promised in his election campaign.

A day later, on Tuesday, report it Some economic sanctions will be lifted on Venezuelaamong them blocking US oil company Chevron from negotiating with state-owned PDVSA, in exchange for Revitalizing the dialogue between Nicolás Maduro’s government and the oppositionthat took place in Mexico City.

The United States has been working on these ads for several months and decided to publish them at a time when the Summit of the Americas, where Biden wants to promote a regional immigration dealI got into a crisis because of the White House’s decision not to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The first to raise his voice in addition to the excluded Mexican Lopez Obrador, who announced Their absence from the summit if all the countries of the Americas are not invited(a) The position later joined by Bolivian Luis Ars.

The Caribbean Community (Caricom), which has 15 members, also questioned its participation for the same reason, citing Pressure from the United States to change his mind.

While the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez; from Chile, Gabriel Borek; And from Honduras, Xiomara Castro, did not exclude their participation, but demanded No one is excluded in the conclave.

Although for other reasons, the President of Guatemala, Alejandro Giamatti, said he would not go, after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the re-election of the country’s attorney general; And the Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro is still weighing in on his help.

After announcing Cuba and Venezuela, Christopher Dodd, Biden’s adviser to the summit, met on Wednesday. Video conference with Lopez Obradortrying to approximate positions.

In the end, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard made it clear that the Mexican president reiterated his position that “Calling all countries of the continent without exception“.

The United States has not sent out invitations to the summit yet

The truth is that The White House has not yet sent invitations to the summit. As confirmed, Wednesday, at a press conference of the spokeswoman for the US government, Karen Jean-Pierre.

But weeks ago, Undersecretary for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said he did not expect the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to be invited because in his opinion They fail to meet minimum democratic requirements.

Some senators have already raised their voices against Biden’s gesture toward Havana and Caracas, including Democrat Bob Menendez, the Senate foreign committee chair and influencer on Latin American politics.

At a press conference, Tuesday, Menendez demanded that sanctions relief not be a prelude to a Security Council resolution Invitation from Cuba and Venezuela to attend the meeting in JuneSince then, it is no longer the summit of democracies.

At the same time, Biden is trying to ensure the participation of his closest allies in the summit, such as the Ecuadorean president, William LassoWho called him last night to fix it.

Specifically, this Wednesday, the first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, began a tour of Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama in order to Finishing refine the details of the top.