US excludes Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua from Americas summit

The Biden administration has made a final decision to exclude the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the Summit of the Americas despite threats from Mexico’s president to skip the gathering unless all countries in the Western Hemisphere were invited, Report informs, citing Reuters.

The decision, which followed weeks of intense deliberations, risks an embarrassing boycott of the US-hosted gathering this week in Los Angeles if Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and some other leaders choose not to show up.

Summits of the Americas are the meetings of heads of state and government of the countries of the Western Hemisphere, which are held every few years under the auspices of the Organization of American States, which unites more than 30 participants. In late April, US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols told reporters that representatives from the governments of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua would likely not be invited to the meeting.