Mexican President Obrador Declines Invitation to Biden's Summit of Americas

Instead of the president, Mexico will be represented at the upcoming summit by the head of the country's Foreign Ministry, Marcelo Ebrard.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has confirmed that he will not be attending the Joe Biden-hosted Summit of Americas "because not all American countries are invited."

"There cannot be a summit if all countries are not invited,'' he said. "Or there can be one but that is to continue with all politics of interventionism."

Obrador's statement comes on the heels of the Biden administration's decision not to invite the governments of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua to the upcoming summit. Earlier, Obrador urged Washington to make sure that all American countries were included.

Instead, Obrador is planning to visit the Mexican state of Oaxaca on Thursday or Friday of this week, a reporter for Mexico Today tweeted. The state has been damaged by the recent hurricane that has left at least 11 people dead.

Later, during his Monday speech, the Mexican president indicated that he is going to visit the White House in July.

The ninth Summit of Americas is scheduled to take place from 6 to 10 June 2022 in Los Angeles. According to the Biden administration, the US president is expected to outline his vision for a “sustainable, resilient, and equitable future” for the region.

It is the first time the United States has hosted the regional gathering since its launch in 1994. The last summit, notably ignored by then-US President Donald Trump, took place in 2018 in Peru.