WASHINGTON, DC – United States President Joe Biden has decided to ease sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela at a time when parts of the region have criticized his government for not inviting these two countries to 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 potential boycott by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, which other leaders will join.
The Biden administration announced, on Monday, the resumption of commercial flights to Cuba outside Havana, the abolition of the limit on sending remittances and the restoration of the family reunification program, as the first steps in opening up to the island he promised on the island. Election campaign.
Just a day later, on Tuesday, he reported that he would lift some economic sanctions on Venezuela, including banning US oil company Chevron from negotiating with state-owned PDVSA, in exchange for reactivating dialogue between the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro and the opposition that 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, at which Biden wants to promote a regional immigration deal, entered a crisis due to the White House’s decision not to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The first to raise his voice, in addition to the excluded, was the Mexican López Obrador, who announced his absence from the summit if not all the countries of the Americas were invited, a position that was later joined by the Bolivian Luis Ars.
The 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) also questioned her participation for the same reason, citing pressure from the United States to change its mind.
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While the presidents of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez; from Chile, Gabriel Borek; And from Honduras, Xiomara Castro did not rule out their participation, but demanded that no one be excluded from the secret meeting.
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; Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro is still considering helping him.
After the announcement of Cuba and Venezuela, Christopher Dodd, Biden’s adviser to the summit, met this Wednesday via video link with Lopez Obrador, in an attempt to bridge the positions.
In conclusion, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that the President of Mexico confirmed his position that “all countries of the continent must be invited, without excluding anyone.”
The fact is that the White House has not yet sent invitations to the summit, as confirmed Wednesday at a press conference by the US government spokeswoman, Karen-Jean-Pierre.
But weeks ago, Undersecretary of State for Latin America, Brian Nichols, said he did not expect the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to be invited because, in his view, they did not meet the 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, on Tuesday, Menendez demanded that sanctions relief not be a prelude to inviting Cuba and Venezuela to the June meeting, since then “it would not be a summit of democracies.”
At the same time, Biden is trying to ensure that his closest allies, such as Ecuadorean President Guillermo Laso, who called him last night to discuss the matter, take part in the summit.
Namely, the first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, began a tour of Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama on Wednesday to finish refining the details of the summit.
The figure, boosted by the presence of Ukrainian citizens, marks the fourth time in the current government that the number of border crossings has exceeded 200,000.
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