President of Mexico will not attend the Summit of the Americas

Sheinbaum reaffirms the inclusive position and criticizes the exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. She decides not to attend the meeting that will be held in the Dominican Republic

The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced this Monday (13) that she will not participate in the Summit of the Americas, which will be held in early December in the Dominican Republic. The statement was made during his daily press conference at the National Palace, known as Mañanera del Pueblo, in response to a question about the event.

“No, I will not participate”, he stated categorically, adding that the government is evaluating whether a representative from the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs will be able to attend in his place: “That is what we are looking at, whether there will be someone from the secretariat who can go”.

Sheinbaum expressed his disagreement with the decision to exclude Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the summit. “Personally, we have never agreed that any country should be excluded,” he declared, reiterating his stance in favor of the inclusion of all nations in regional forums.

The president also highlighted that the internal situation demands her attention, in reference to the heavy rains that caused major flooding in central Mexico, leaving 64 people dead so far. “Given the current circumstances, it is necessary to take care of the country,” he stated.

Alignment with the United States

Sheinbaum’s announcement comes after the government of the Dominican Republic — strongly aligned with Washington’s foreign policy — communicated, at the end of September, its decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the 10th Summit of the Americas, which will be held on December 4th and 5th, in Punta Cana.

As explained by the government of ultra-rightist Luis Abinader in an official statement, the measure seeks to “avoid political polarization” and “guarantee the greatest possible participation”, thus repeating the exclusion implemented by the United States, under the administration of Joe Biden, at the Los Angeles summit in 2022.

The Dominican administration, which holds the pro tempore presidency of the forum, stated in the document that “the non-convocation” of the three countries “constitutes the decision that, given the hemispheric circumstances, favors greater participation”. He further argued that these nations “decided not to be part of the OAS” [Organização dos Estados Americanos] and who also did not participate in the previous edition.

The controversial decision comes after Abinader’s government announced — upon assuming the presidency pro tempore in 2023 — its intention to organize an “inclusive” summit. Furthermore, it breaks with a tradition in the Caribbean country, since both in the 28th Ibero-American Summit in 2023 and in the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) in 2017, both held in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were invited and actively participated. However, after Donald Trump arrived at the White House, the Caribbean country decided to withdraw the invitations.

In this context, when the exclusion of the three countries became public through an official statement, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its “deep concern and rejection at the decision imposed by the United States government on the Dominican Republic”, classifying it as an “evident surrender in the face of brutal unilateral pressure from the US Secretary of State”.

The Cuban government warned that exclusion would “consolidate the historical involution in this system of summits” and would make “a respectful and productive exchange” with what it calls “the imperialist power”, which it accuses of reviving “the gunboat policy and the Monroe Doctrine”. He also warned that, if this decision persists, “subordination and dominance over the voracious and expansionist neighbor will prevail”, in an “open challenge to the proclamation of the region as a Zone of Peace”.

Originally published by Brasil de Fato on 10/13/2025

By Gabriel Vera Lopes – Havana (Cuba)

Editing: Luís Indriunas