Latin American leaders rebuked U.S. President Joe Biden face-to-face on Thursday over his exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from an Americas summit he is hosting, underscoring the challenges he faces to reassert leadership in the region.
Biden was targeted for criticism by two fellow leaders in speeches that followed his opening address in Los Angeles in which he laid out his plan for a new U.S. economic partnership with Latin America.
Speaking on the first day of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Biden said his administration was committed to helping Latin America and the Caribbean recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, tackle irregular migration and improve living standards.
But he quickly faced sharp pushback over his decision to cut out Washington's three main regional antagonists, which spurred a boycott by some leaders led by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
