Future of Summit of the Americas in Doubt After Cuba Row

US Spurns Cuban Involvement, Summit Ends Without Statement

The Summit of the Americas has ended not only without a statement but with serious doubts over how future summits will take place, as Latin American members of the Organization of American States (OAS) revolted at US efforts to continue to exclude Cuba from meetings.

In the end the US is on the defensive, with Obama pledging a new relationship with the other OAS members but a serious amount of anger leaving little doubt the summit was a dramatic failure.

The US drug war across the region was also a topic of serious discussion, with Obama insisting that legalization “isn’t a valid option” to the continued failure and massive cost of the drug war. Another issue that wasn’t resolved was the Falkland Islands, a topic prompting Argentina to storm out of the meeting.

The hottest debate was still reserved for Cuba, with the US insisting Cuba could never be allowed to play a role at future summits and a number of nations insisting they couldn’t accept any joint declaration that didn’t make a place for Cuba.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.