Cuba accuses US of trying to exclude it from regional summit

Cuban foreign minister says Washington is pressuring governments to block Havana from the Summit of the Americas in June. Cuba’s foreign minister has accused the United States of seeking to exclude the country from an upcoming regional summit, just days after the two nations held their first high-level talks in four years. In a series of tweets on Monday, Bruno Rodriguez said the US was pressuring regional governments to block Cuba from participating in the Ninth Summit of the Americas in June in Los Angeles, California. “We have learned from various sources that the United States government has been carrying out intense efforts and exerting pressure on countries in the region to try to exclude Cuba from the IX Summit of the Americas,” Rodriguez wrote. In a televised address to reporters in Havana on Monday, Rodriguez noted the mixed messages emanating from the Biden administration after last week’s talks on migration between high-level Cuba and US officials in Washington.