Foreign Leaders Chastise Biden at His Own Summit: ‘Inexcusable’

President Joe Biden was publicly scolded Thursday by leaders of Western Hemisphere nations for not inviting several nations to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua were not invited to…

IJR SyndicatedJun 10, 20223 min read

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Some leaders who did show up had harsh words for Biden.

Johnny Briceño, the prime minister of Belize, criticized Biden for excluding nations.

“This summit belongs to all of the Americas — it is therefore inexcusable that there are countries of the Americas that are not here, and the power of the summit is diminished by their absence,” Briceño said, according to The Washington Post.

“At this most critical juncture, when the future of our hemisphere is at stake, we stand divided. And that is why the Summit of the Americas should have been inclusive. Geography, not politics, defines the Americas.”

Briceño also attacked what he called the “illegal blockade against Cuba” by the United States as an “affront to humanity,” according to Reuters.

“In fact, it is un-American. The time has come, Mr. President, to lift the blockade,” Briceño said.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said “the silence of those who are absent is calling to us” and that the United States should not have the power to decide who was invited.

“We definitely would’ve wished for a different Summit of the Americas,” Fernandez said.

Biden, however, put a positive spin on the day.

“I heard a lot of important ideas raised. Notwithstanding some of the disagreements related to participation, on the substantive matters, what I heard was almost unity,” he said.

Biden was asked by reporters if he was concerned about the nations that stayed away, and he had a one-word reply: “No.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.