• Live
    • Audio Only
  • google plus
  • facebook
  • twitter
News > Latin America

Trinidad & Tobago Support an Inclusive Summit of the Americas

  • Flags of the CARICOM countries.

    Flags of the CARICOM countries. | Photo: Twitter/ @NewsLatinPress

Published 12 May 2022
Opinion

The CARICOM leaders are not in favor of the United States inviting opposition politician Guaido instead of including Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the Summit.

Trinidad & Tobago's Foreign Affairs Minister Amery Browne said that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and his country are in favor of the 9th Summit of the Americas being inclusive rather than exclusionary.

RELATED: 

Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua Ratify Relations with Venezuela

"CARICOM defends that we must continue advocating, at all levels, for the inclusion of the governments of Cuba and Venezuela in the Summit of the Americas," he said, adding that this aspiration has been raised with the U.S. authorities.

"Trinidad & Tobago has been doing its part in that regard, led by Prime Minister Rowley, and we have raised this issue with U.S. Special Advisor for the 9th Summit former Senator Chris Dodd and with a range of other contacts within the U.S. system."

"Our position is crystal clear: the best decision is to agree to a Summit which is inclusive rather than exclusionary so that the family of nations of the Americas can sit at the table to discuss and work together on the key issues that confront all our people," Browne said.

His statements come after several Latin American countries announced they are debating whether they will attend the 9th Summit of the Americas, to be held in Los Angeles. The CARICOM leaders are not in favor of the United States inviting opposition politician Juan Guaido instead of including Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro at the Summit.

Over the weekend, the leaders of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) met to discuss this issue. Antigua & Barbuda and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines pointed out they do not accept the invitation to Guaido and leave out the Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Besides rejecting the U.S. policy towards Venezuela and Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne made it clear that his country does not recognize former lawmaker Guaido as president of the Bolivarian nation.

This will be the first time that the United States organizes the Summit of the Americas, which is held every three or four years since 1994. The attitude adopted by the administration of President Joe Biden, however, calls that event into question.

"The Summit of the Americas is about to fail, not because of the lack of will for dialogue on the part of the Latin America and the Caribbean governments, but because of the arrogance and contempt of the United States against our peoples," former Bolivian President Evo Morales tweeted.

Within the United States there are also alternative positions. When asked about this issue on Wednesday, Gregory Meeks, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, stated that he hopes the Biden Administration will listen to Latin American countries and include Cuba and Venezuela in the next summit.

Comment
0
Comments
Post with no comments.