With 800+ polítical prisoners, Cuba pushes for Summit of the Americas invite

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez claimed on April 25 that the United States excluded his country from the preparations for the ninth Summit of the Americas, to be held in June in Los Angeles.

At a press conference in Havana, Rodriguez "respectfully" urged the U.S. government to say "whether Cuba will be invited" to this meeting.

The Cuban foreign minister added that Washington is also exerting "extreme pressure" on "numerous governments in the region" that oppose this exclusion.

The representative of the Cuban regime also pointed out that one of the central themes of the event will be health. "At the moment, a so-called action plan on health and resilience up to 2030 is being negotiated in an opaque manner,” he said.

Rodriguez said that Cuba and other member states of the Pan American Health Organization have not been invited to take part in these talks despite the island's many health achievements.

The United States will host the IX Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California, in June 2022, an event that will focus on "Building a sustainable, resilient and equitable future."

Havana and Washington have been exchanging darts in the public arena since high-level delegations from the two countries held a meeting in the U.S. capital last week to attempt to resolve the migration crisis.

The United States explored the possibility of resuming migration agreements with Cuba, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on April 20 during a press conference in Panama.

Mayorkas, who accompanied President Biden to a regional meeting on migration in the Central American country, said the U.S. is committed to attacking the root causes of migration to his country through aid to Central America.

As of October 2021, the Cuban regime will stop accepting new deportations from the United States, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told El Nuevo Herald.