US VP Harris announces migration funds after Mexico snubs Americas summit

1. US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday announced another $1.9 billion in private-sector funding to boost jobs in hopes of reducing migration from Central America, at a Latin American summit in Los Angeles that was rejected by leaders of the United States. Mexico and other affected countries.

Harris has been tasked with the unenviable task of addressing the root causes of rising migration to the United States, an issue that has been taken up by the rival GOP and has become a top priority for President Joe Biden. at a week-long Summit of the Americas.
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2. The ninth Summit of the Americas will be officially opened by President Joe Biden in Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 8. The final list of participants in this gathering, which has been held every three or four years since 1994 and is supposed to bring together the heads of state of the whole continent, was the subject of controversy until the last minute. At issue was the refusal of the United States, the 2022 host country, to invite Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, on the grounds that they do not respect democratic principles.

The decision raised an outcry in the region. Fourteen leaders of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), followed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Bolivian Luis Arce and Honduran Xiomara Castro, announced that they would not participate if Washington persisted in its drive to exclude other nations.

The Argentine president, Alberto Fernandez, has also hesitated. Even Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro has hinted that he might not attend, for reasons of his own that some analysts attribute to his disappointment that Mr. Biden refused a bilateral meeting.

The organization of the summit has become a diplomatic nightmare. In the face of protests, Mr. Biden eased off, announcing relief from the sanctions imposed by his predecessor, Donald Trump, against Cuba and, to a lesser extent, those against Caracas. The presidents of the countries concerned are not convinced. One by one, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel and Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro announced that, in any case, they would not travel to Los Angeles.
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3. "We do not believe that dictators should be invited," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters after key partner Mexico snubbed a regional summit opening Monday in Los Angeles to protest Washington's exclusion of three far-left countries, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Some political experts claimed that "The U.S. is trying to bring back and force the Monroe Doctrine on Latin America. They think Latin America is the backyard of the U.S."

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador confirmed that he would not attend the Summit of the Americas and said "We think it's a continuation of the old policy of interventionism, of disrespect for nations and their peoples."