ALBA condemns US discrimination against Latin American states

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The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) on Saturday denounced the US decision to ban several Latin American countries from participating in the Summit of the Americas. 

The alliance stressed that Washington's decision was politically motivated and condemned the US discriminatory treatment.

The ALBA-TCP held its summit in the Cuban capital, Havana.

"[We] reject the arbitrary, ideological, and politically motivated exclusion of several of our countries from the so-called Summit of the Americas, to be held in June in Los Angeles, United States," the statement read.

"Such unilateral decision constitutes a serious historic regression in the hemispheric relations and an outrage to the Latin American and Caribbean peoples," it added, stressing that the alliance also denounced the discriminatory treatment by the United States against some Latin countries.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols said at the end of April that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not likely to participate in the upcoming Summit of the Americas, which prompted opposition from Mexico and Bolivia. The common factor between the three countries is that they are all led by socialist governments unilaterally sanctioned by Washington.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Obrador and Bolivian Luis Arce voiced their opposition to such a decision, stressing that they would not attend the summit if not all of the region's countries received invitations.

Brazil's Bolsonaro, on the other hand, has informed his staff that he will not be attending, though without providing a reason, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez revealed in late April that the US was seeking to exclude Havana from the summit despite the US holding its first senior-level talks with the Caribbean island nation just days prior to the revelation.

He reminded that Cuba had already been excluded from all the preparations and working groups for the summit, such as preparation for the Health and Resilience Plan for the Americas until 2030, which he described as "shameful" given his country's contribution to promoting health for its population and the region as a whole, in addition to migration.

Malign US policies in the region have pushed Nicaragua to exit the Organization of American States, with the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister saying, "The People and Government of Nicaragua denounce [...] a political instrument of intervention and domination of the US State Department, wrongly and falsely called the Organization of American States."

The ALBA-TCP was established in 2004 as a regional organization for Latin America and the Caribbean to combat poverty and social injustice. It is comprised of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis