The Joe Biden administration maintains its firm veto over the presence of Venezuela and Nicaragua at the Summit of the Americas, but doubts what role it wants to assign to Cuba. A White House official on Wednesday “flatly” assured the France Press agency that Nicolás Maduro will not be among the guests, despite the approach rehearsed from Washington after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In his response to the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, Kevin O’Reilly, national coordinator of the summit to be held in Los Angeles in June, insisted that Cuba’s participation depends directly on the White House, but added that the dictators of Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited. O’Reilly has indeed opened a door “to the broad participation of civil society from all countries where the authorities are dictators who seek to suffocate public debate.”
The pressure exerted from Mexico by its president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has not yet achieved its objectives, although the White House would have sought the participation of a second-level Cuban official. The Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has made it clear that they do not count on him: “I will not attend in any case.”
Washington’s response comes a day before the Cuban revolution gathers its allies this Thursday in Havana, with the excuse of a Summit of Alba (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America). Both Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega will make an appearance in the Cuban capital, after both criticizing their exclusion from Los Angeles. “Whatever they say, our voices will be there,” said the Bolivarian president, whose capture would be rewarded in the US with 15 million dollars.
The three revolutions, which also have the backing of Bolivia and Honduras, are the main allies of Vladimir Putin on the continent. Despite this, the three have opened channels of dialogue with Washington, until now of little scope.
In recent hours, the Reuters agency has reported that, with the aim of once again hindering the resumption of dialogue with the opposition in Mexico, Maduro has vetoed Norway as the main mediator. He has also demanded the presence of Russia, which was present at the start of the talks last year.
Brazil, one of the countries that had been reluctant to participate in the Los Angeles conclave, has finally confirmed that President Jair Bolsonaro will attend the meeting and that, in addition, he will meet with Biden.
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