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News > Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

PM Gonsalves Urges CARICOM States Not To Attend US-Led Summit

  • Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.

    Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. | Photo: Twitter/ @NewsBreadfruit

Published 31 May 2022
Opinion

He condemned that Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua were excluded from the Summit of the Americas, which is supposed to promote policies of understanding for the Americas.

On Tuesday, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves asked the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries not to attend the 2022 Summit of the Americas to protest against the U.S. exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the event.

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"President Joe Biden has no right to decide who or what countries are invited to the Summit, which is supposed to promote policies of understanding for the Americas," Gonsalves explained.

"We are left with no other option than to refuse attending the meeting," he said, stressing that CARICOM governments' relations with the United States must be grounded in respect for the self-determination of peoples.

On Friday, U.S. lawmakers from Congress warned that the omission of the governments of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the Summit could undermine the position of the United States in this region.

"If not everyone is invited, a representation of the Mexican government will attend the Summit. But I would not go. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard would represent me," Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) confirmed, stressing that this decision is a protest message.

Bolivian President Luis Arce also acknowledged that he would not participate in the event since it does not comply with his country's international relations principles, including respect for sovereignty and the collective construction of a culture of dialogue and peace.

CARICOM leaders held a virtual meeting last week to discuss their countries' participation in the Summit of the Americas. Although they could not establish a consensus over this matter, they rejected that the Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido will attend the event.

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