The "Hot Potato" of the Summit of the Americas: Cuba's
Absence

By Carl Bloice, April 16, 2012

Foreign Policy in Focus

http://www.fpif.org/blog/the_summit_of_the_americass_hot_potato_cubas_absence

The Summit of the AmericasAs a rule, anything the New
York Times says about developments in Latin America
should be taken with a couple of handfuls of salt. The
paper regularly does its readers a disservice by
painting a picture of developments in the region
created in the spirit of the Monroe Doctrine. Case in
point: an April 12 report titled "Trade, Energy and
Drugs Are Topics for Obama at Summit of the Americas"
by correspondent Jackie Calmes, which made the claim
that "For the most part, the tension over Cuba seems
mostly to be behind Mr. Obama." According to Calmes,
"Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, announced earlier
this month that he would boycott the meeting in
Colombia because Cuba, as usual, was not invited, but
he failed to persuade other leftist leaders in the
region to do the same," and that Cuban President Raul
Castro "said he did not want to attend anyway, sparing
Mr. Obama the prospect of any photo opportunities with
a Castro."

Of course, we have no way of knowing whether Castro
actually said that and neither does the Times. However,
according to the Associated Press, the Cuban leader had
expressed a desire to attend the meeting but was
"delicately" told by the Summit host, Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos, that that would be
impossible because it would put U.S. President Barack
Obama in the position of "facing an awkward meeting
with the Cuban leader or having to boycott the summit
himself."

The 6th Summit of the Americas was scheduled for April
14-15 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. According to
the Falklands/Malvinas-based Merco Press, "Though the
summit's official agenda ranges from technology to
poverty reduction, Cuba was once again shaping into the
No. 1 hot potato for those gathering in the Caribbean
port city."

There are 43 nations participating in the summit; only
two - the U.S. and Canada - oppose Cuba's
participation. On April 12, a pre-summit foreign
ministers meeting is said to have failed to agree on a
last minute proposal to invite the island nation

However, reading Calmes' report one might get the
impression that the issue of Cuba's participation in
the leadership gathering had ceased to be much of an
issue and Correa was isolated in his position. No
mention was made of the statement made weeks ago by
Bolivia's President Eva Morales that "We have arrived
with the conviction that this must be the last summit
without Cuba." Or, of Santos' statement: "I hope this
is the last summit without Cuba."

Nor did the Times report note that the recent visit to
the US by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff came
following her stay in Cuba and consultations with
President Castro. While in Havana she criticized the
existence of the U.S. base and prison at Guantanamo
Bay, and the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba.

Perhaps more revealing of the Times' approach to the
unfolding situation was its failure to note the
symbolism of - or indeed, even report on - the
pre-summit visit to Havana of Mexican President Felipe
Calderon, where, according to Prensa Latina, he
expressed "His government's interest in bringing
relations with Cuba to the highest level." Calderon
arrived in Cuba April 11 for a two-day visit.

According to Reuters, "Calderon said on Wednesday upon
his arrival in Havana that 'in spite of our natural and
different points of view about various issues,' an
effort would be made during the visit to 'take our
bilateral relation to its best level'."

"We want to broaden trade and investment between Cuba
and Mexico," Calderon told journalists in Havana. ""We
are interested in cooperating in health, education,
culture and sports, as well as in bilateral exchanges
in energy," said Calderon. "My visit is due mainly to
the friendship and brotherhood existing between the two
peoples."

From Cuba Calderon flew to Haiti and from there was on
to the Summit in Colombia.

As it turned out that the exclusion of Cuba was indeed
a big hot potato at Cartagena de Indias and it is clear
the issue is not going away. Despite the wishes of
Washington and Ottawa this was almost certainly the
last time the pushy norteamericanos determine who comes
to summits and who does not.

Carl Bloice, a member of the National Coordinating
Committee of the Committees of Correspondence for
Democracy and Socialism, is a columnist for the Black
Commentator. He also serves on its editorial board.

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