The US senator for the state of Florida Rick Scott asked President Joe Biden that the Cuban “illegitimate communist regime” be excluded from the Summit of the Americas, to be held in June in Los Angeles (California). He also calls for the exclusion of Nicaragua and Venezuela.
In a recent letter sent to Biden, Scott tells the US president that it is “vitally important” not to allow this appointment to “legitimize the tyrants in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua”, and for this the United States “must prohibit” that representatives of these “illegitimate regimes” attend the Summit.
The Republican legislator and former governor of Florida affirms that the leaders of those three countries, Miguel Díaz-Canel, Nicolás Maduro and Daniel Ortega, are “dictators who starve their own people, imprison political dissidents and repress peaceful protests.” .
Otherwise, “welcome these evil and illegitimate leaders” or their representatives, would be to harm the “movements for freedom and democracy in these nations,” he stresses.
He urges Democrat Biden to invite Juan Guaidó to the Summithead of the National Assembly elected in 2015 and opposition leader.
“President Guaidó is the legitimate leader of Venezuela and represents the interests of freedom-loving Venezuelans who are fed up with Maduro’s tyranny, oppression and genocide,” the senator asserts.
In a tweet in spanishScott urges the US president on Tuesday to “veto Diaz-Canel and his thugs” and assures that “these dictators can cry what they want,” but they will not stop “fighting for democracy and to put an end to their regimes.”
The United States responded to Cuba on Monday that it has not yet sent invitations to the Summit of the Americas, in the face of accusations from Havana that it has been excluded from the preparations for that meeting.
Contacted byr EFaith, spokesmen for the White House National Security Council and the State Department said that “at the moment no invitation has been issued” for the summit, without offering further details.
At a press conference, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez accused the United States on Monday of excluding Cuba from the preparations for the meeting and respectfully urged Washington to clarify whether his country will be invited.
He also stated that the US is exerting extreme pressure on “numerous governments in the region” that oppose the exclusion of Havana.
Although the United States did not want to confirm this point on Monday, in January a senior US official said that any leader who has been “democratically elected” will be invited to the IX Summit of the Americas.
The Summit of the Americas is an event that brings together the heads of state and government of the countries of the American continent and is held every three or four years. Cuba has attended the last two editions in Panama (2015) and Peru (2018).
This year it is scheduled to take place June 6-10 in Los Angeles and will focus, among other things, on the regional declaration on migration and protection that the United States is working on with partners from across the region.
The illegitimate Cuban communist regime has no right to attend the Summit of the Americas. That’s why I urged @POTUS to veto Díaz-Canel and his thugs.
These dictators can cry all they want, but we will not stop fighting for democracy and to end their regimes. https://t.co/lUyg8CiY9R pic.twitter.com/BPzXOFr5FU— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) April 26, 2022