UPDATED
Mexico snub throws Americas' summit into disarray
Shaun TANDON
Mon, June 6, 2022
President Joe Biden's plans to reboot US engagement with Latin America -- especially on critical topics like migration -- took a major hit after key partner Mexico snubbed a regional summit opening Monday in Los Angeles to protest Washington's exclusion of three far-left countries.
What was meant to be a week-long showcase of cooperation looks more likely to become a display of division that reflects diminishing clout over a region where long-time US economic and diplomatic influence faces a growing Chinese challenge.
Confirming it was not inviting Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas, a senior White House official cited "reservations regarding the lack of democratic space and the human rights situations."
In response, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would stay away.
"You cannot have a Summit of the Americas if you do not have all the countries of the Americas attending," Lopez Obrador announced, complaining of US "hegemony" and "lack of respect for nations."
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard will represent Mexico instead, but the leftist populist leader's absence will diminish the impact of a summit where US-Mexico relations are at the heart of major immigration and trade issues.
The senior US official did not directly respond to Lopez Obrador's boycott, saying only that "the United States recognizes and respects the position of allies in support of inclusive dialogue." The official also said non-governmental representatives from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would be present.
In Havana, the communist Cuban government issued a statement calling Biden's decision "anti-democratic and arbitrary."
Biden is expected to make announcements at the summit on economic cooperation and fighting Covid-19 and climate change, said Juan Gonzalez, the top White House adviser on Latin America.
The US president, who flies to Los Angeles on Wednesday, also hopes to secure an agreement to help regulate surges of migration from the region's poorer and violent countries to the United States -- a major concern for US voters and an area where Republican opponents see Biden as vulnerable in upcoming midterm elections.
- Playing down Mexico spat -
State Department spokesman Ned Price played down the seriousness of the spat with Lopez Obrador, saying "we understand his position" and that the US-Mexican relationship is "broad and deep."
"Mexico is an important hemispheric player. We are very gratified that... Foreign Secretary Ebrard will be in attendance. We will have a number of opportunities to engage with our Mexican counterparts."
The Biden administration also notes it has secured the presence of other key regional players, including Argentina's left-leaning Alberto Fernandez and Brazil's far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
Benjamin Gedan, who heads the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said Lopez Obrador's absence would mark a "significant void" and said Mexico's leader seemed more focused on domestic political gain.
The boycott has been "a really unfortunate subplot in the run-up to the summit because it has drained an enormous amount of US diplomatic energy for a bizarre cause celebre," Gedan said.
Biden has crafted a positive agenda, avoiding simply summoning Latin American leaders to lecture them on democracy, corruption and China, he said.
But, he added, it was unclear whether Biden will bring substantial resources to the table, in contrast to China's lavish infrastructure spending and trade privileges.
"I think, inevitably, the United States will disappoint," Gedan said.
Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, recently told a congressional hearing that each summit has become "progressively less ambitious."
Los Angeles, he said, "offers the perfect opportunity for Washington to announce a commitment to regional growth and recovery."
Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, said the drama over summit attendance showed Washington's waning hold over the region as China muscles in.
The United States "still has a lot of soft power," Shifter said. "As for political and diplomatic influence, it is diminishing by the day."
bur-sms/sw
Shaun TANDON
Mon, June 6, 2022
President Joe Biden's plans to reboot US engagement with Latin America -- especially on critical topics like migration -- took a major hit after key partner Mexico snubbed a regional summit opening Monday in Los Angeles to protest Washington's exclusion of three far-left countries.
What was meant to be a week-long showcase of cooperation looks more likely to become a display of division that reflects diminishing clout over a region where long-time US economic and diplomatic influence faces a growing Chinese challenge.
Confirming it was not inviting Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas, a senior White House official cited "reservations regarding the lack of democratic space and the human rights situations."
In response, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would stay away.
"You cannot have a Summit of the Americas if you do not have all the countries of the Americas attending," Lopez Obrador announced, complaining of US "hegemony" and "lack of respect for nations."
Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard will represent Mexico instead, but the leftist populist leader's absence will diminish the impact of a summit where US-Mexico relations are at the heart of major immigration and trade issues.
The senior US official did not directly respond to Lopez Obrador's boycott, saying only that "the United States recognizes and respects the position of allies in support of inclusive dialogue." The official also said non-governmental representatives from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would be present.
In Havana, the communist Cuban government issued a statement calling Biden's decision "anti-democratic and arbitrary."
Biden is expected to make announcements at the summit on economic cooperation and fighting Covid-19 and climate change, said Juan Gonzalez, the top White House adviser on Latin America.
The US president, who flies to Los Angeles on Wednesday, also hopes to secure an agreement to help regulate surges of migration from the region's poorer and violent countries to the United States -- a major concern for US voters and an area where Republican opponents see Biden as vulnerable in upcoming midterm elections.
- Playing down Mexico spat -
State Department spokesman Ned Price played down the seriousness of the spat with Lopez Obrador, saying "we understand his position" and that the US-Mexican relationship is "broad and deep."
"Mexico is an important hemispheric player. We are very gratified that... Foreign Secretary Ebrard will be in attendance. We will have a number of opportunities to engage with our Mexican counterparts."
The Biden administration also notes it has secured the presence of other key regional players, including Argentina's left-leaning Alberto Fernandez and Brazil's far-right Jair Bolsonaro.
Benjamin Gedan, who heads the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, said Lopez Obrador's absence would mark a "significant void" and said Mexico's leader seemed more focused on domestic political gain.
The boycott has been "a really unfortunate subplot in the run-up to the summit because it has drained an enormous amount of US diplomatic energy for a bizarre cause celebre," Gedan said.
Biden has crafted a positive agenda, avoiding simply summoning Latin American leaders to lecture them on democracy, corruption and China, he said.
But, he added, it was unclear whether Biden will bring substantial resources to the table, in contrast to China's lavish infrastructure spending and trade privileges.
"I think, inevitably, the United States will disappoint," Gedan said.
- 'Progressively less ambitious' -
The Summit of the Americas is the first held by the United States since the inaugural 1994 meeting in Miami, where then-US president Bill Clinton sought the creation of a trade area to cover the whole continent except communist Cuba.
The United States has since soured on free trade, with Biden following the lead of his predecessor Donald Trump, who said such pacts hurt US workers.
Trump championed a hard line on Venezuela and Cuba, and did not attend the last Summit of the Americas, in Peru in 2018.
The Summit of the Americas is the first held by the United States since the inaugural 1994 meeting in Miami, where then-US president Bill Clinton sought the creation of a trade area to cover the whole continent except communist Cuba.
The United States has since soured on free trade, with Biden following the lead of his predecessor Donald Trump, who said such pacts hurt US workers.
Trump championed a hard line on Venezuela and Cuba, and did not attend the last Summit of the Americas, in Peru in 2018.
Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, recently told a congressional hearing that each summit has become "progressively less ambitious."
Los Angeles, he said, "offers the perfect opportunity for Washington to announce a commitment to regional growth and recovery."
Michael Shifter, a senior fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue, said the drama over summit attendance showed Washington's waning hold over the region as China muscles in.
The United States "still has a lot of soft power," Shifter said. "As for political and diplomatic influence, it is diminishing by the day."
bur-sms/sw
Mexico president's summit snub shows limits of U.S. reach in Latin America
Americas Summit in Los Angeles
Mon, June 6, 2022,
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican president's refusal to attend a U.S.-hosted summit because of disputes over the guest list highlights how Latin America's leftists are pursuing an increasingly independent foreign policy from Washington.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had said he would not go to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week led by U.S. President Joe Biden unless all governments in the region were asked.
On Monday, he followed through as Washington said it was not inviting its antagonists Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua on the grounds of human rights and democratic shortcomings.
Lopez Obrador's firm line over the past few weeks won backing from other left-leaning governments across Latin America eager to stand up to Uncle Sam, fanning diplomatic tensions just as Washington tries to re-engage with its southern neighbors.
Luis Guillermo Solis, a center-left former Costa Rican president, said Lopez Obrador's determination to clamor for an inclusive discussion showed off his anti-imperialist credentials, striking a tone with centuries of resonance in the region.
"The easiest way to do it is to symbolically fight with the United States," Solis said. "It's a well-known play in our neighborhood."
The summit aims to promote democratic unity, but the dispute exposed divisions between Washington and governments sympathetic to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, self-styled leftists who have long been reviled by the U.S. foreign policy establishment.
Leftist leaders in Argentina, Chile, Honduras, and Bolivia have echoed Lopez Obrador's sentiments, taking U.S. officials by surprise and leaving them scrambling to ensure Biden is not left talking to empty chairs when he arrives on Wednesday.{nL1N2XM1B8]
Biden is under domestic pressure from Republicans as well as some fellow Democrats not to look soft on Cuba and Venezuela with the approach of elections in November that will determine whether his party keeps control of Congress.
The controversy risks overshadowing Washington's desire to prevent democratic backsliding in the region, said John Feeley, a retired U.S. ambassador and veteran Latin America diplomat who helped organize previous regional summits.
Feeley also flagged concerns about Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro undermining confidence in his country's October election and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's push to seek re-election despite constitutional term limits.
"Choppy waters is going to be the reality," said Feeley.
CUBA'S PULL
In March, Cuba began handing down jail sentences of up to 30 years to dozens of people arrested last year at the biggest anti-government protests since the island's 1959 revolution.
That month Citlalli Hernandez, secretary general of Lopez Obrador's ruling party, led a delegation to the communist-run island before he himself went in May, lauding the government and inking a deal to bring Cuban doctors to Mexico.
Hernandez hailed what she called Cuba's own version of participatory democracy, its achievements in health and education, and rejected any suggestion it was a dictatorship.
"We deeply respect the process of Cuban revolution," the 32-year-old senator said.
Her support points to the enduring appeal of Cuba's one-party model among a swath of Latin America's left, underlining a sharp split with Biden's center-left Democratic Party.
While Biden partly rolled back some of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's toughest sanctions, he and most Democrats remain stern critics of Cuba's record on democracy and human rights.
Costa Rica's Solis believes the region's real political fault lines are not between left and right.
"It's a problem between democracy and authoritarianism," he said, describing Maduro's government as "criminal left" and Ortega's Nicaragua as "more like a monarchy".
Venezuela and Nicaragua have criticized the summit as exclusionary, and Cuba's Diaz-Canel said he would not attend regardless of whether he was invited.
Biden is well placed to warn about the risks of weakening democracy, given the false claims of widespread voter fraud and other misinformation pushed by Trump, said ex-diplomat Feeley.
But even the most successful bilateral talks in Los Angeles will unlikely shake the broader trend, he said.
"The overall panorama will continue to be difficult, confused and confusing."
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Dave Graham and Grant McCool)
Americas Summit in Los Angeles
Mon, June 6, 2022,
By David Alire Garcia
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The Mexican president's refusal to attend a U.S.-hosted summit because of disputes over the guest list highlights how Latin America's leftists are pursuing an increasingly independent foreign policy from Washington.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had said he would not go to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles this week led by U.S. President Joe Biden unless all governments in the region were asked.
On Monday, he followed through as Washington said it was not inviting its antagonists Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua on the grounds of human rights and democratic shortcomings.
Lopez Obrador's firm line over the past few weeks won backing from other left-leaning governments across Latin America eager to stand up to Uncle Sam, fanning diplomatic tensions just as Washington tries to re-engage with its southern neighbors.
Luis Guillermo Solis, a center-left former Costa Rican president, said Lopez Obrador's determination to clamor for an inclusive discussion showed off his anti-imperialist credentials, striking a tone with centuries of resonance in the region.
"The easiest way to do it is to symbolically fight with the United States," Solis said. "It's a well-known play in our neighborhood."
The summit aims to promote democratic unity, but the dispute exposed divisions between Washington and governments sympathetic to Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, self-styled leftists who have long been reviled by the U.S. foreign policy establishment.
Leftist leaders in Argentina, Chile, Honduras, and Bolivia have echoed Lopez Obrador's sentiments, taking U.S. officials by surprise and leaving them scrambling to ensure Biden is not left talking to empty chairs when he arrives on Wednesday.{nL1N2XM1B8]
Biden is under domestic pressure from Republicans as well as some fellow Democrats not to look soft on Cuba and Venezuela with the approach of elections in November that will determine whether his party keeps control of Congress.
The controversy risks overshadowing Washington's desire to prevent democratic backsliding in the region, said John Feeley, a retired U.S. ambassador and veteran Latin America diplomat who helped organize previous regional summits.
Feeley also flagged concerns about Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro undermining confidence in his country's October election and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele's push to seek re-election despite constitutional term limits.
"Choppy waters is going to be the reality," said Feeley.
CUBA'S PULL
In March, Cuba began handing down jail sentences of up to 30 years to dozens of people arrested last year at the biggest anti-government protests since the island's 1959 revolution.
That month Citlalli Hernandez, secretary general of Lopez Obrador's ruling party, led a delegation to the communist-run island before he himself went in May, lauding the government and inking a deal to bring Cuban doctors to Mexico.
Hernandez hailed what she called Cuba's own version of participatory democracy, its achievements in health and education, and rejected any suggestion it was a dictatorship.
"We deeply respect the process of Cuban revolution," the 32-year-old senator said.
Her support points to the enduring appeal of Cuba's one-party model among a swath of Latin America's left, underlining a sharp split with Biden's center-left Democratic Party.
While Biden partly rolled back some of his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's toughest sanctions, he and most Democrats remain stern critics of Cuba's record on democracy and human rights.
Costa Rica's Solis believes the region's real political fault lines are not between left and right.
"It's a problem between democracy and authoritarianism," he said, describing Maduro's government as "criminal left" and Ortega's Nicaragua as "more like a monarchy".
Venezuela and Nicaragua have criticized the summit as exclusionary, and Cuba's Diaz-Canel said he would not attend regardless of whether he was invited.
Biden is well placed to warn about the risks of weakening democracy, given the false claims of widespread voter fraud and other misinformation pushed by Trump, said ex-diplomat Feeley.
But even the most successful bilateral talks in Los Angeles will unlikely shake the broader trend, he said.
"The overall panorama will continue to be difficult, confused and confusing."
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Dave Graham and Grant McCool)
U.S. 'understands' Mexican position on Americas summit after boycott -State Dept
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - The United States "understands" Mexico's position on the Summit of the Americas, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday after Mexico's president made good on a threat to skip the event because all countries in the Western Hemisphere were not invited.
Price said U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken were in discussions with officials from U.S. neighbors including Mexico in very recent hours over participation in the summit.
"Certainly there are a diversity of opinions when it comes to who should be invited to the Summit of the Americas," Price said. "We have done our best to incorporate the viewpoints of the hemisphere."
Although Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would not be attending, Mexico would still participate and would be represented by Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, Price said.
The boycott of Lopez Obrador and possibly some other leaders could diminish the relevance of the summit in Los Angeles, where the United States aims to address regional migration and economic issues.
Price defended Washington's decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the meeting, taking place in Los Angeles this week, saying the convener of the meeting has broad discretion over who participates.
"It is unfortunately notable that one of the key elements of this summit is democratic governance, and these countries are not exemplars, to put it mildly, of democratic governance," Price said, citing the recent jailing of artists in Cuba, shrinking space for civil society in Nicaragua and President Nicolas Maduro's leadership of Venezuela that is not recognized by the United States.
Representatives of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who Washington recognizes as the country's legitimate leader, as well as non-governmental delegates from the three barred countries, would participate in the summit, Price said.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis and Daphne Psaledakis Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell)
Mexico leader to skip Biden's Americas Summit
AFP -
Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced Monday he would skip the regional Summit of the Americas in the United States due to Washington's failure to invite countries it views as undemocratic.
© PEDRO PARDO
© PEDRO PARDO
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he will not attend the Americas Summit in Los Angeles
The White House confirmed that President Joe Biden would not be inviting Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to this week's summit in Los Angeles.
"I'm not going to the summit because they are not inviting all the countries of America and I think it is necessary to change the policy that has been imposed on us for centuries: exclusion," said Lopez Obrador in his daily press conference.
Lopez Obrador said Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard would be representing Mexico in his place.
The leftist populist had threatened last month to stay away from the summit unless all countries were invited.
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced he would not attend even if invited, while Guatemala's conservative leader Alejandro Giammattei pulled out after Washington sanctioned his top prosecutor.
The White House had said last week that Biden was eager for Lopez Obrador to attend.
"You cannot have a Summit of the Americas if you do not have all the countries of the Americas attending," said Lopez Obrador, who has also urged the US to end sanctions against Cuba.
"Or you can have it, but we see that as the old policy of interventionism, lack of respect for nations and their people."
A senior US official told AFP that "the US continues to maintain reservations regarding the lack of democratic space and the human rights situations" in the three barred countries.
"As a result, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela will not be invited to participate in this summit."
Lopez Obrador said his snub would not affect his "very good relations" with Biden, whom he said was under "pressure from the Republicans" to keep out the three countries.
"I'm really disappointed about this situation, but I do not accept that anyone puts themselves above the countries, I don't accept hegemony, not from China, not from Russia, not from any country," he said.
The Mexican president said that he would still visit the White House in July where he would look to discuss pan-American "integration."
"That's how they created the European Community and then that became the European Union. That's what we need to do in America," he said.
The summit is due to focus on migration, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and "the fight for freedom and democracy," the White House has said.
The United States has stepped up criticism of Cuban authorities following the arrest of hundreds of people for taking part in anti-government protests last July.
The Biden administration refuses to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro or Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega due to alleged election irregularities.
jg/dga/bc/bgs
The White House confirmed that President Joe Biden would not be inviting Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to this week's summit in Los Angeles.
"I'm not going to the summit because they are not inviting all the countries of America and I think it is necessary to change the policy that has been imposed on us for centuries: exclusion," said Lopez Obrador in his daily press conference.
Lopez Obrador said Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard would be representing Mexico in his place.
The leftist populist had threatened last month to stay away from the summit unless all countries were invited.
Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced he would not attend even if invited, while Guatemala's conservative leader Alejandro Giammattei pulled out after Washington sanctioned his top prosecutor.
The White House had said last week that Biden was eager for Lopez Obrador to attend.
"You cannot have a Summit of the Americas if you do not have all the countries of the Americas attending," said Lopez Obrador, who has also urged the US to end sanctions against Cuba.
"Or you can have it, but we see that as the old policy of interventionism, lack of respect for nations and their people."
A senior US official told AFP that "the US continues to maintain reservations regarding the lack of democratic space and the human rights situations" in the three barred countries.
"As a result, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela will not be invited to participate in this summit."
Lopez Obrador said his snub would not affect his "very good relations" with Biden, whom he said was under "pressure from the Republicans" to keep out the three countries.
"I'm really disappointed about this situation, but I do not accept that anyone puts themselves above the countries, I don't accept hegemony, not from China, not from Russia, not from any country," he said.
The Mexican president said that he would still visit the White House in July where he would look to discuss pan-American "integration."
"That's how they created the European Community and then that became the European Union. That's what we need to do in America," he said.
The summit is due to focus on migration, climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic and "the fight for freedom and democracy," the White House has said.
The United States has stepped up criticism of Cuban authorities following the arrest of hundreds of people for taking part in anti-government protests last July.
The Biden administration refuses to recognize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro or Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega due to alleged election irregularities.
jg/dga/bc/bgs
Mexico's president has announced that he will not travel to the U.S. this week to attend the Summit of the Americas -- another snub that has distracted from the Biden administration's efforts to use the tri-annual meetings to reassert U.S. leadership in the Western Hemisphere.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called President Joe Biden a "good man" on Monday, but blamed U.S. domestic political pressure for Biden's decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the summit.
"I believe in the need to change the policy... of exclusion, of the desire to dominate for no reason and not respect the sovereignty of countries, the independence of each country, and it will not be a summit of the Americas without the participation of all countries in the America's," said López Obrador, often known by his initials as AMLO, during a press conference.MORE: Amid boycotts, US scrambling to make Summit of the Americas a success
AMLO is not the only head of government to boycott the meetings over the invitation list. The leaders of Bolivia, Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala, and Honduras have said they will not attend, while others -- including left-wing leaders in Chile and Argentina -- have criticized the U.S. decision while still confirming their attendance.
Biden will travel to Los Angeles later this week with first lady Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to host the summit, with plans to announce agreements on migration, economic development, public health, climate change, democracy, and more.
© Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty ImagesMexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is seen during his daily morning press conference in Mexico City on June 6, 2022.
But the boycotts have dominated talk around the summit, with some critics saying the administration has not done enough to rally participation around common objectives.
"A lack of robust agenda that speaks to the region has opened the door to distractions in the form of ideological & political theater," tweeted Ryan Berg, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
It's unclear how much of an effect AMLO's absence will have, especially as he announced he would dispatch his Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard in his place. The populist, nationalist president also said he would meet with Biden in July at the White House.
But losing the leader of the world's 15th largest economy and the second most populous country in Latin America is a blow, especially after Biden sent his friend and former Senate colleague Chris Dodd as a special adviser for the summit to Mexico and other countries to shore up attendance.
Biden also "incredibly values personal engagement," according to his top White House official for the region Juan Gonzalez, perhaps making any snubs more insulting. Months ago, the administration publicly floated the idea of inviting AMLO to an LA Dodgers baseball game -- a warm gesture toward a leader who has rhetorically challenged the U.S. and who, some critics say, has undermined Mexican democracy.
Some analysts say, however, that over a year into his administration, Biden has not put enough energy into his stated goal of reasserting U.S. leadership in its hemisphere and promoting democracy in a region that has seen significant backsliding and political upheaval.
President Joe Biden meets with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the Oval Office of the White House, Nov. 18, 2021 in Washington, D.C.
"Unfortunately, the Biden administration did not put all the political capital needed to address more than 10 political problems" from Haiti to Venezuela and to make the summit a success, said Manuel Orozco, the director of the Inter-American Dialogue's migration, remittances, and development program in Washington.
"The quantity of problems that are mounting in Latin America and the Caribbean vis-à-vis the United States is just overwhelming... The political capital wasn't there," he added.
Dodd had more success elsewhere, especially in Brazil. President Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right leader of Latin America's largest country, announced last week he would attend the summit and have his first one-on-one meeting with Biden, with whom he's had frosty relations because of his environmental policies, attacks on Brazilian democracy, and close ties to former President Donald Trump.
In addition to Dodd, the administration deployed Jill Biden on a goodwill tour in May to Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica, where she was warmly received by heads of states and fellow first ladies and visited hospitals and schools supported with U.S. funding.
© Erin Schaff/APHonduran President Xiomara Castro and Vice President Kamala Harris walk through the presidential palace in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on Jan. 27, 2022.
Vice President Harris also called Honduras's left-wing President Xiomara Castro last month, but less than 24 hours later, she announced she would not participate if there were exclusions.
Harris has been tasked with stemming migration from Honduras and other Central American countries and attended Castro's inauguration in January, trying to secure an ally in the country's first female leader. But she's been criticized for visiting the region for three days in the 15 months since Biden announced her role -- keeping the politically fraught issue at times at an arm's length away.
U.S. officials have said they could not invite the leaders of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua because of their crackdowns on civil society and democracy, arguing that the region's countries agreed in the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter that any "interruption of the democratic order" in one country "constitutes an insurmountable obstacle" to its participation in the summit.
Instead of attending, AMLO announced he would travel on Thursday or Friday to the Mexican state Oaxaca, which was hit by Hurricane Agatha last week, to survey the damage and the reconstruction efforts.
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