Dave Sherwood

HAVANA (Reuters), a high-ranking Cuban diplomat told Reuters on Friday that the United States had made a “desperate attempt” to impose their will on the Western Hemisphere. The decision was being made about which countries would be invited to the upcoming Summit of the Americas.

Biden’s administration official stated Friday that invitations had been sent out by the United States, although he declined to name the countries. According to a State Department senior official, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Venezuela will likely be removed because they do not respect democracy.

In a statement written to Reuters by Carlos Fernandez de Cossio the Cuban Vice Foreign Minister said that such a decision is a “reflection American contempt for this region.” This sharp rebuttal to comments made on Thursday by Kerri Hannan (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs), who accused Cuba of distracting from claims of domestic human rights violations.

“[Hannan]She should be clearer about what her government is doing and stop using ambiguous or unjustified language regarding the right to take part in an event that is not U.S. It is. ()De Cossio declared that “all of the Americas”

There is a possibility that President Joe Biden will be embarrassed by the possible boycott of the summit in June from a number of leaders. This includes Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador the Mexican president.

Lopez Obrador declared last week that he will not attend the summit, if Cubans are not invited. Luis Arce (his Bolivian counterpart) followed his lead.

De Cossio claimed that it was only the United States who is to blame for the current predicament.

He said, “It’s disrespectful that an official doesn’t consider the genuine and independent positions of Latin America to demand an inclusive summit in the hemispheric.”

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said late on Thursday the U.S. government was having “constructive conversations” with Lopez Obrador around the summit. He also said that the former U.S. Senator Chris Dodd, Biden’s special envoy for the summit, had a “good exchange of views” with Lopez Obrador in a two-hour Zoom meeting this week.

De Cossio denounced such talks as well as the statements of the undersecretary, which are part of a U.S. campaign to exert pressure on regional leaders.

De Cossio said that “the desperate efforts…numerous American officials throughout the region in order to impose a position are well known.”