The Biden administration on Thursday accused Cuba of fueling controversy over its possible exclusion from the US-hosted Summit of the Americas next month to portray Washington as the “bad guy” and distract attention from Havana’s human rights record at home.
Speaking at a Latin America conference, Kerri Hannan, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, said countries that have threatened to skip the regional meeting if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not invited should attend or else they would lose an opportunity to engage with the United States.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
A potential boycott of the June 6-10 summit by a growing number of leaders, including Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has raised the risk of embarrassment for President Joe Biden, who will host the gathering in Los Angeles.
The White House has said it has not yet sent out invitations and refused to provide details. However, a senior State Department official said in April that Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government would likely be excluded because they have not shown respect for democracy.
Adding to weeks of Cuban criticism, President Miguel Diaz-Canel told lawmakers on Monday a “country incapable of accommodating everyone should be disqualified as serving as host.”
The Cuban embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
“The Cubans are loving this, getting the attention that they get for not attending and ... continuing to bang that drum,” Hannan said.
“The more that they can shine the light on us and call us the bad guy, they’re avoiding the fact that the repression that they’ve been actively perpetrating against their people,” she said, citing a crackdown on street protests last July. “They want the press on us not inviting them to the summit or not. ... Hypocrisy plays well in the media.”
The Biden administration this week announced a partial rollback of Trump-era restrictions on remittances and travel to the Communist-ruled island. Cuba´s vice foreign minister on Wednesday denounced US policy toward the island as one of continued “hostility” and “economic blockade.”
Lopez Obrador said last week he would not go to the summit if Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited. His Bolivian counterpart, Luis Arce, followed suit.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is also likely to skip the meeting, sources told Reuters, without specifying his reason. Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei said on Tuesday he would not attend, a day after the United States criticized the reappointment of an attorney general it has linked to corruption.
Read more:
US announced easing Visa and family remittance restrictions for Cuba
Mexican president threatens to boycott Biden’s Americas summit
Also Read
-
US eases some sanctions on Venezuela to encourage political talks: Official
The United States is easing some of its tough sanctions on Venezuela in order to encourage political dialogue between President Nicolas Maduro’s ... World News -
Russian diplomat leaves open Cuba, Venezuela army deployment
Russia on Thursday sharply raised the stakes in a showdown with the West over Ukraine, with a top diplomat saying he wouldn’t exclude a Russian ... World News -
Biden: Families of separated children at US-Mexico border deserve compensation
President Joe Biden said Saturday that the families of children separated from their parents at the US-Mexico border during the Trump administration ... World News -
Mexican president threatens to boycott Biden’s Americas summit
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Tuesday that he would skip a Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June unless Washington ... World News
