US trying to exclude Cuba from regional summit: Havana

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The United States is seeking to exclude Havana from an upcoming regional summit, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said Tuesday, just days after the two countries held their first senior-level talks in four years.

"We have learned from various sources that the United States government has been carrying out intense efforts and exerting pressure on countries in the region to try to exclude Cuba from the ninth Summit of the Americas," Rodriguez said in a tweet thread on Twitter.

We have learned from various sources that the United States government has been carrying out intense efforts and exerting pressure on countries in the region to try to exclude #Cuba from the IX Summit of the Americas.
1/7 pic.twitter.com/utYD9C8wGi

— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) April 25, 2022

He reminded that Cuba had already been excluded from all the preparations and working groups for the summit, such as preparation for of 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.

Rodriguez underlined that there was no justification for the exclusion of his country - or any other country - from the event Havana had been a part of previously.

A US Department of State spokesperson told Reuters the White House had not issued invitations to the summit so far, though Washington's relations with Havana could see it not issuing such an invitation for the island nation.

The United States and Cuba have had tense relations since the 1959 revolution that saw former President Fidel Castro overthrow the US-backed Fulgencio Batista regime, under which the population suffered from horrendous conditions.

The US has had Cuba sanctioned since the revolution took place, though Washington had ratcheted up sanctions against the country several times. 

"The US, [which intends] to exclude us, is the one that blocks Cuba and tries to suffocate our entire population, with extreme coercive measures, in order to achieve its objectives of political domination. The US, the same that violates the human rights of Cubans and its own population," Rodriguez said.

Former US President Donald Trump cut off most travel and remittances between the two countries, with relations remaining strained under President Joe Biden, whose administration spurred up human rights violations allegations against Cuba.

Cuba had participated in the 2015 and 2018 Summit of the Americas following pressures from Havana's allies, but it had not attended previous versions of the summit.

"We denounce these maneuvers and thank all the countries that have worthily and courageously defended Cuba's right to participate and that work for the true integration of our region without exclusions," Rodriguez stressed.

The summit is a stage for discussions and agreements among member states regarding democracy and human rights.

Rodriguez also reiterated his country's rejection of the US attempts to impose unilateral, inhumane, and failed policy in the regional forum, highlighting that it had not responded to the universal call to put an end to the blockade that has been affecting the island nation for more than 60 years.

Maligne 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 OAS "is an instrument of Yankee imperialism to violate rights and independencies, sponsoring and promoting interventions and invasions, legitimizing coups in different formats and modalities, with the aim - which they have not accomplished - of disintegrating, through humiliation, submission, and surrender, our national sovereignties," the statement added.