Cuba will be making its first appearance at April’s Summit of the Americas in Panama, raising the likelihood of a first-ever U.S.-Cuba working meeting and only the third time since the 1960s that an American president has met with a Cuban dictator.
Latin American officials said that Raul Castro is expected to attend the April 10-11 summit, the seventh held. His attendance follows Obama’s decision to warm relations with Cuba and after some Latin nations demanded that Cuba be let in to the regional club.
In a statement announcing the trip, the White House did not mention Cuba or Castro.
Obama shook hands in 2013 with Castro at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service.
The summit comes at a critical time in U.S.-Cuba relations. Showing progress is on Obama’s agenda, being the first president to open diplomatic talks with Cuba. But it also comes as Cuba is defending Venezuela which the U.S. has recently turned the economic screws on with new sanctions.
In fact just last week Castro slapped the administration for targeting Venezuela. “The U.S. must understand once and for all that it’s impossible to seduce Cuba or intimidate Venezuela,” he said.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
