The President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, will not attend the Summit of the Americas taking place in the city of Los Angeles, California, as confirmed to CNN by the communication team of the Presidential House.
On behalf of Castro, a delegation led by Foreign Minister Enrique Reina and Private Secretary to the Presidency Héctor Zelaya, who is Castro’s son, will attend.
On May 28, Castro posted on his Twitter account that he would only attend the Summit if “all countries of the Americas, without exception” were invited.
A senior US official confirmed to CNN on Monday that the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela would not be invited to the summit due to the lack of democratic spaces and the human rights situation in those countries. Host countries have wide discretion in deciding who they invite, the official said.
Various sectors in Honduras are concerned about Castro’s non-attendance at the Summit, given the relationship he established months before assuming the presidency with the United States government and which was strengthened by the visit. during his January 27 inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla said on Twitter on Sunday that Castro’s “political decision” not to attend the summit “is an opportunity the country is losing.”
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