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Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) accused Mexico’s president of attempting to “blackmail” President Joe Biden by declining to appear at a high-profile summit unless “dictators” were also invited.
Menendez, the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, denounced President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for his demand that Biden welcome leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California.
https://twitter.com/diazbriseno/status/1534940944902107137?s=20&t=7DI-rJQ-EVdMvOE-3D66eA“The summit is an opportunity for democracies of the [Western] Hemisphere to come together in common cause,” Menendez told MSNBC host Jose Diaz-Balart. “Instead of coming to the summit and strengthening the relationship with the United States after four years of Donald Trump, [Lopez Obrador] chose to stay away and side with dictators and despots.”
WHITE HOUSE DOWNPLAYS MEXICO’S ABSENCE FROM SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS
His comments came in response to a press conference held by Lopez Obrador in which the Mexican leader alleged the “influential” Menendez had wielded his political leverage in an evenly divided Senate to pressure Biden into banning Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela from attending the summit. Lopez Obrador also claimed Menendez harbored “hate” for Cubans, despite Menendez himself being the son of Cuban immigrants.
After the White House announced it was snubbing leaders of the three countries in response to concerns over their records on democracy and human rights, Lopez Obrador declared that he would not attend the gathering unless invitations were also extended to them.
“There can’t be a Summit of the Americas if all the countries of the continent don’t participate,” the Mexican president said.
But Biden administration officials dismissed Lopez Obrador’s decision to boycott the summit. “At the end of the day … we just don’t believe dictators should be invited,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday.
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Lopez Obrador, a longtime left-wing fixture of Mexican politics, is often seen as close to far-left leaders of countries such as Cuba and Venezuela. In contrast, Menendez has long been a harsh critic of left-wing regimes in Latin America. When former President Barack Obama attempted to normalize U.S. relations with Cuba near the end of his presidency, Menendez emerged as one of the move’s sharpest detractors.
