Cuba says U.S. seeking to exclude it from upcoming Summit of Americas

April 25 (UPI) -- The United States has launched a campaign aiming to exclude Cuba from the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, the communist nation's foreign affairs minister said Monday.

Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla told reporters in Havana the Biden administration "has been carrying out intense efforts and exerting pressure on countries in the region to try to exclude Cuba" from the summit.

In fact, he claimed, Cuba "has already been excluded from all the preparations and working groups for the summit," including development of a new, Pan American health and resilience plan in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is "something shameful, given Cuba's contribution in promoting health for its population and the region," Rodriguez said.

The five-day Ninth Summit of the Americas will be hosted by the United States beginning June 6, bringing together leaders from the countries in the region to address shared challenges and opportunities under the theme "Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future" for the hemisphere.

The Pan American Health Organization has said the summit is taking place at a time of "unprecedented urgency" due to "long standing inequities in the region," noting the pandemic has reduced the GDP in Latin America by 6.8% and pushed 209 million people into poverty, including 78 million into extreme poverty, in 2020.

"There is no justification for excluding Cuba or any other country from this event that we have attended the last two editions," Rodriguez said while calling on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "to say in an honest way if Cuba will be invited" to the summit.

A National Security Council spokesperson told the Miami Herald that no invitations had been issued from the White House.

The Cuban foreign minister's accusations came less than a week after U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas indicated the Biden administration is willing to review and resume bilateral agreements with Cuba on "orderly and safe migration."

The talks, he said, would take place before May 23, when Title 42 -- a measure that allow for the quick expulsion of migrants under COVID-19 protocols -- is to be repealed.

Customs and Border Protection Office data shows historic levels of Cuban migrants arriving to enter the United States via Mexico -- even outpacing those coming from Central America, NBC News reported.

The seven-day average for Cubans crossing the border as of March 26 was 1,200, up 460% over the last year, according to the agency.