WASHINGTON (AP) – As President Joe Biden travels to Asia, his administration is trying to save next month’s summit focused on Latin America.
The North and South American summit, hosted by the United States for the first time since the event opened in 1994, risks collapsing due to fears about the guest list. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has threatened to boycott if Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are not included. Unlike Washington, which sees the three autocratic governments as pariahs, Mexico’s left-wing leader has regular ties with them.
An empty summit will undermine US efforts to re-establish its influence in Latin America as China intervenes and raises fears that democracy is receding in the region.
Biden is now considering inviting a Cuban representative to attend the summit as an observer, according to a US official who declined to be identified while speaking to sensitive discussions. It is unclear whether Cuba will accept the invitation – which will be addressed to someone from the foreign ministry and not to the foreign minister himself – and whether this will allay Lopez Obrador’s concerns.
Lopez Obrador reiterated on Friday that he “wants everyone invited”, but said he hoped to reach a resolution, adding that “we have a lot of confidence in President Biden and he respects us”.
Even if Lopez Obrador is present, there may still be a noticeable absence in Los Angeles: Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro, who leads the most populous country in Latin America, has not said whether he will be present.
Uncertainty is a sign of chaotic planning for the summit, which is to take place in a little over two weeks in Los Angeles. Meetings of heads of state are usually organized well in advance, with clear agendas and guest lists.
“There’s no excuse for not having enough time,” said Ryan Berg, a senior fellow at the American Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “This is our chance to set a regional agenda. This is a great opportunity. And I’m afraid we won’t accept it. “
The National Security Council did not respond to a request for comment. Speaking to the US State Department, Ned Price said the first wave of invitations was sent out on Thursday, but there may be additions. He declined to say who received the invitations.
He said speculation about who would attend was “understandable”, noting that Biden would be the first US president to attend the 2015 summit when President Barack Obama left for Panama.
President Donald Trump missed the next summit in Peru in 2018, sending Vice President Mike Pence in his place.
“Our agenda is to focus on working together when it comes to the major challenges facing our hemisphere,” Price said, including migration, climate change and the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuba’s participation is often a contentious issue at the biennial summit, which includes countries from Canada to Chile. The island nation was not invited to the first gathering in Miami, but Obama made headlines by shaking hands with Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama.
Questions about Biden’s approach to Latin America accumulate when he turns his attention elsewhere. He took the lead in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, helping to build an international coalition to sanction Moscow and arm Kyiv with new weapons.
Biden is also trying to shift US foreign policy to Asia, where he sees China’s growing power as a major long-term challenge for the country. He is currently on his first trip to the continent as president, visiting South Korea and Japan.
Berg argues that ignoring Latin America could undermine Biden’s goals as China seeks to enter the region.
“It has always been difficult for Latin America to get what it deserves,” he said. “But we are pretty close to being in a geopolitical situation where Latin America is moving from a strategic asset for us to a strategic liability.
Instead of putting the finishing touches on the schedule for the America’s summit, administration officials are vying to ensure that it does not become an inconvenience.
Chris Dodd, a former US senator from Connecticut who was elected by Biden as special adviser for the summit, spent two hours at Zoom with Lopez Obrador this week.
There was also a steady stream of messages correcting US policy toward the region.
For example, the United States is seeking to ease some economic sanctions against Venezuela.
In addition, administration officials said they would ease travel restrictions from the United States to Cuba and allow Cuban immigrants to send more money back to the island’s people.
The discussion of Cuba’s potential involvement in Los Angeles reflects a difficult diplomatic and political balance.
Biden faces pressure to invite Cuba from his counterparts in the region. In addition to Lopez Obrador, Bolivian President Luis Arce has threatened to miss the summit.
But Biden risks an internal reaction if Cuba is involved, not just Republicans. Senator Robert Menendez, a Cuban American Democrat from New Jersey who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is an outspoken critic of the Cuban government.
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Associated Press writer Maria Verza contributed from Mexico City and Ellen Nickmeyer from Washington.
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