HAVANA (AP) — Leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean began arriving in Cuba on Sunday to talk about poverty and inequality at a summit of a fledgling regional bloc formed as a force for integration and a counterbalance to the U.S.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, or CELAC for its initials in Spanish, was formed in 2011 and comprises every nation in the Western Hemisphere except the U.S. and Canada.