Following a trip to Cuba, Prime Minister Hon. John Brice�o, who is currently the Chairman of the Caribbean Community, called on US president Joe Biden to invite Cuba to the 9th Summit of the Americas. Additionally, just two months ago, CARICOM had called for the inclusion of both Cuba and Venezuela at the Summit of the Americas at its Thirty-Third Inter-Sessional Meeting held in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, in March of this year.

It is possible that CARICOM members, including Belize, might decide to not attend the summit if the US does not comply with their request. According to Prime Minister Brice�o, the US is urging states like Belize and other countries to be in attendance at the summit, which is set to take place sometime in June, but there has not yet been any announcement by the Caribbean Community that a decision has been made on the matter.

"When we had the Heads of Government meeting in March here in Belize on the first and second of March, the issue of the Summit of the Americas came up and whether Cuba and Venezuela were going to be invited or not, we felt that if we have the 'Summit of the Americas' then everybody should be invited," Prime Minister Brice�o said.

"We made that decision then, but since that decision we have been having meetings with different officials of the US government. We have former Senator Chris Dodd that was visiting us. I've been on the phone with him; he met with us in Barbados, making a case as to why it is important for us to be able to attend to the Summit of the Americas. While I was in Cuba, we had a Zoom meeting with Vice President Harris, where again we spoke on different issues�.but during the entire discussion again they were making the point that it is important for CARICOM to be able to attend the Summit of the Americas," explained Hon. Brice�o, who said that in the next few days he will be in meetings with his CARICOM counterparts and they will be engaging in discussions in an attempt to reach a final decision.

"In the next few days, I will be in contact with our colleagues to find out what is going to be the final decision," Hon. Brice�o said.

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