(AP Photo/Karel Navarro). Demonstrators protest against the upcoming Summit of the Americas, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, April 12, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump who had planned to attend the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima canceled his plans, choos...

(Andres Valle/Peruvian Government via AP). In this handout photo provided by the Peruvian government, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra, left, talks with Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, at the Palace of Pizarro also known as Government Palace, in Lim...

(AP Photo/Martin Mejia). Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, President Luis Alberto Moreno, right, speaks next to U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, during a press conference at theWestin Hotel in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 13, 2018. Moreno and Ross...

(AP Photo/Karel Navarro). U.S. Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with Peruvian diplomat Gustavo Bravo upon his arrival at the Jorge Chavez international airport in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 13, 2018. Pence is in Lima to attend the Americas Summit.

LIMA, Peru (AP) - Cuban President Raul Castro joined a steadily growing list of leaders who have followed U.S. President Donald Trump in choosing to send a surrogate to what is shaping up into a decidedly low-key Summit of the Americas.

The gathering of Western Hemisphere leaders kicked off Friday in Peru without the presence of at least five presidents besides Trump - and the list of canceled RSVPs could grow.

Castro had never officially confirmed his attendance but he was widely expected to show up to bid farewell to regional allies as he prepares to step down from the Cuban presidency in a week's time. Instead he sent his Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez to lead the Cuban delegation.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega was also widely expected to snub the event in solidarity with fellow leftist Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, who had his invitation withdrawn.

Meanwhile, the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay all announced they will be staying home, saying they need to attend to pressing domestic matters and will send alternates instead. Ecuador's president showed up but then quickly returned home after three journalists kidnapped by holdout Colombian rebels were killed.

Analysts said the shrinking list of presidential attendees could be indicative of declining U.S. influence in the hemisphere. Trump is the first U.S. president to ditch the event, which was started by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as a way to assert American trade influence in the region. Trump canceled in order to manage the U.S. response to an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria.

"It appears that in most of these situations, there are specific and unique reasons for heads of state not to attend," said Matt Clausen, who is in Lima as head of the Washington Office on Latin America. "What has changed since President Trump pulled out is the calculus about the overall importance of the summit."

And it isn't just a rising roster of no-shows that make this year's summit of dubious importance: Presidents from three of Latin America's most populous nations who are attending are all slated to leave office within the next 12 months.

The summit was initially started to promote democracy and free trade in the Americas, but in recent years both topics have become testy subjects. Instead the summit has become a stage for awkward encounters between leftist leaders and their northern counterparts.

Protesters led by soccer legend Diego Maradona burned an effigy of President George W. Bush to protest the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq at the 2005 summit in Argentina. Four years later, the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez famously gave then President Barack Obama a copy of a classic leftist book, "The Open Veins of Latin America," detailing the history of U.S. military interventions in the region.

Another key summit moment came in 2015 when Obama and Castro shook hands while in Panama City four months after the U.S. announced it would renew diplomatic relations with the communist island.

Things have changed dramatically since that handshake.

The Trump administration has rolled back many of Obama's overtures to open travel and commerce with the island and withdrawn most of its diplomats in Cuba over mysterious "sonic attacks" in Havana. Many feared that if Trump had showed up at this year's summit, his harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric and threats to pull out of regional trade deals would have generated tense encounters.

Vice President Mike Pence is expected to use the trip to promote trade and urge regional partners to further isolate Venezuela's government. The region has been grappling with how to respond to Maduro's increasingly autocratic rule, along with a crippling economic crisis and an exploding tide of migration.

Maduro was barred from this year's meeting over his plans to hold a presidential election that most of the opposition is boycotting and that many foreign governments are decrying as a sham. The Venezuelan president said Trump's cancellation was another sign the U.S. still views Latin America as Washington's backyard.

Several of Venezuela's most prominent opposition leaders are gathered in Lima, hoping to help build a forceful region-wide response.

Just before the summit was set to get underway Friday, Trump signaled that he might reopen talks on a Pacific Rim trade deal that he pulled the U.S. out of after taking office.

Without mentioning Trump's policy reversal on the Trans Pacific-Partnership, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau celebrated that several countries in the hemisphere including host Peru - one of the most-open economies in Latin America - have embraced his government's vision of beneficial free trade agreements.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto also urged the Trump administration to join the accord.

"There's a door open for the U.S. to rethink and eventually reconsider its position," he told a group of business leaders.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The eighth Summit of the Americas, a conference that draws together the leaders of North, Central and South America, begins in Lima, Peru, on Friday amid continued political instability throughout the region.

Business leaders are set to convene the first meeting of the summit on Monday morning. The topics to be discussed include Latin America's economic outlook and recommendations from civil society actors.

As of April 5, at least 20 heads of state had committed to attending the summit.

"We are ready, prepared, and everything is very well organised to welcome the important Heads of State and their delegations," Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Nestor Popolizio said in a press release.

The summit's theme is "Democratic Governance against Corruption".

Regional tumult

The summit comes during a time of region-wide political instability and change. Peru's President Martin Vizcarra assumed office on March 23, after former president and billionaire businessman Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned due to numerous scandals throughout his short presidency.

The Odebrecht bribery scandal was among the scandals that marred Kuczynski's tenure. Odebrecht is a Brazilian construction company behind the 2014 world cup in Brazil, the 2016 Olympic Games in the same country, Caracas, Venezuela's metro system and numerous other projects across the continent, as well as Portugal, Mozambique and Angola.

Odebrecht has reportedly admitted to bribing politicians throughout the region with payments numbering in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Kuczynski was accused of lying about payments received from the firm in the mid-2000s.

Petrobras, Brazil's state-controlled petroleum firm, has its own multimillion-dollar graft scheme that allegedly involved officials taking bribes to award construction contracts to companies at inflated rates.

Former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, commonly called Lula turned himself into police on April 7 after a dramatic standoff with police. The Supreme Court denied a request from Lula to avoid beginning his 12-year jail sentence while he exhausted all of his appeals over a corruption conviction.

Lula, a left-wing populist, still has a strong base of support in Brazil, which is currently headed by a right-wing government. He had hoped to run for president during October's elections.

Over the past two years, there have been further protests and political battles in Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia and Mexico.

Trouble north of the border

US President Donald Trump was expected to attend the summit, but cancelled on Tuesday, citing developments in Syria.

Mexico, along with Central American states El Salvador and Honduras, have enjoyed strained relations with the US since Trump assumed office in January 2017.

The Trump administration initiated a crackdown on undocumented immigrants from Latin America, - especially Mexico and Central America countries - living in the US. Trump has also repeatedly called for a wall along the US-Mexico border.

Last week, the Trump administration announced it would send 500 National Guard troops to the border, and several states have pledged to send more.

Venezuela will hold snap presidential elections in May. Several Latin American governments have said they won't recognise the election after the main opposition coalition was barred from running in January.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was not invited to the summit but has said he will attend.

The Trump administration is in the middle of renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which opened trade between Canada, Mexico and the US.

The Trump administration is currently in talks to change aspects of the agreement to better favour US businesses. Trump told US officials on April 5 he expects a deal to be reached "soon". </s> MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) The ministers of foreign affairs of the Lima Group will hold the 15th meeting in the Argentinean capital on July 23.

The meeting will be focus on the situation in Venezuela and will be attended by representatives of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Peru, Canada, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Saint Lucia, as well as observers from Ecuador and, for the first time, El Salvador.

Colombia is expected to propose additional sanctions against Venezuela, as announced by Colombian Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo last week.

The Lima Group was created in 2017 to attempt settling the crisis in Venezuela. The group includes Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Guyana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia. Most member states back opposition leader and self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, who is opposed by the incumbent president, Nicolas Maduro. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will meet on Saturday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, a White House official said on Thursday.

The meeting comes amid efforts to renegotiate the North America Free Trade Agreement. U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier on Thursday the talks were “coming along great” and “we’re getting pretty close to a deal.”

Trump had been scheduled to attend the Americas summit but decided this week to send Pence instead so he could remain in the United States to focus on formulating a U.S. response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria last weekend. </s> WASHINGTON/LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend a summit in Lima, Peru to discuss Venezuela on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

U.S. national security adviser John Bolton has also confirmed attendance, two sources in Peru’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

The sources asked not to be named ahead of an announcement. A spokesman for Bolton declined to comment.

Peru invited some 100 foreign ministers to the summit and had hoped to include Russia, Cuba, China, Bolivia and Turkey. The idea was to foster dialogue between supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his critics, Peru’s foreign minister said when he announced the summit last month.

But Venezuela’s allies Russia and Cuba turned down invitations to take part, the sources said. China and Bolivia have not confirmed whether they will attend, they added.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Moreno, and the European Union’s representative on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, have also confirmed their attendance, the sources added. </s> LIMA, Peru (AP) - The Latest on the Summit of the Americas (all times local):

Senate Democrats are urging Vice President Mike Pence to use his trip to Lima to reset relations with a region where they say President Donald Trump's immigrant-bashing rhetoric is costing the U.S. influence.

Demonstrators protest against the upcoming Summit of the Americas, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, April 12, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump who had planned to attend the 8th Summit of the Americas in Lima canceled his plans, choosing to stay in Washington to manage the U.S. response to an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria. The international summit begins tomorrow.(AP Photo/Karel Navarro)

A letter written by New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez and 13 Senate colleagues says that Trump's derogatory comments about Mexican immigrants and Haiti are "damaging to critical relationships we need to promote our own national interests."

The letter also chastises the Trump administration for deep cuts in foreign aid, ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program for so-called "Dreamers" and for its decision to plow ahead with plans to build a wall on the border of Mexico. The letter blames those policies for declining support for the U.S. in the region at a time China and Russia are making important inroads.

The senators encourage Trump to drop an "America First" policy they say is divisive "and embrace instead an 'Americas together' policy." They say that would "advance our strategic interests in the Western Hemisphere, engage our neighbors in a respectful manner, and build on our shared values."

A copy of the letter was provided to The Associated Press.

In this handout photo provided by the Peruvian government, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra, left, talks with Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno, at the Palace of Pizarro also known as Government Palace, in Lima Peru, Thursday, April 12, 2018. Moreno has returned home early from the regional summit amid unconfirmed reports that three press workers kidnapped along the increasingly conflictive border with Colombia have been slain. (Andres Valle/Peruvian Government via AP) </s> LIMA — U.S. national security adviser John Bolton will attend a summit in Peru to discuss Venezuela on Tuesday, but Venezuela’s allies Russia and Cuba turned down invitations to take part, two foreign ministry sources in Peru said.

One of the sources said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will also attend the meeting, which aims to discuss Venezuela’s political crisis and build support for early elections.

Both sources asked not to be named because the list of attendees had not been announced.

A spokesman for Bolton declined to comment. The U.S. Department of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Peru invited some 100 foreign ministers to the summit and had hoped to include Russia, Cuba, China and Bolivia. The idea was to foster dialog between supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his critics, Peru’s foreign minister said when he announced the summit last month.

China and Bolivia have not confirmed whether they will attend, both sources said.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Moreno, and the European Union’s representative on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, have confirmed their attendance, the sources added. </s> OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is off to South America today for a major foreign tour that will see him attend two international summits over a stretch of 10 days.

The trip is seen as an opportunity for Trudeau to turn the page on his widely criticized recent trips to China and India — and to land some new trade partners for Canada.

His first stop will be Lima, Peru, where leaders from more than 30 Western Hemisphere countries will gather for the 8th Summit of the Americas.

There had been speculation that Canada, the U.S. and Mexico would announce some form of an agreement in principle on a new North American Free Trade Agreement during the summit.

But while high-level talks are still expected to take place, U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to skip the gathering has dampened talk of ceremonial surprises.

Instead, the meeting is likely to be dominated by the political crisis in Venezuela.

While there, Trudeau will also get a rare chance to meet with Latin America's largest trading bloc, Mercosur, which counts powerhouse Brazil as well as Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay among its members.

Following two days of meetings in Peru, Trudeau will travel to Paris for his first official visit to France and a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. He will also address the French National Assembly and hold several speaking engagements.

The prime minister will end his tour in London, where he will meet the Queen and British Prime Minister Theresa May before joining leaders from 52 other nations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where trade will top the agenda. </s> WASHINGTON/LIMA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary Wilbur Ross will attend a summit in Peru to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela on Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said.

Ross is visiting Brazil and Argentina this week and two sources in Peru’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that he will be joined at the conference in Peru by U.S. national security adviser John Bolton. The sources asked not to be named.

Peru invited some 100 foreign ministers to the summit and had hoped to include Russia, Cuba, China, Bolivia and Turkey - all allies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The idea was to foster dialogue between supporters of Maduro and his critics, and build support for early elections, Peru’s foreign minister said when he announced the summit last month.

But Russia and Cuba turned down their invitations, the sources said, while China and Bolivia have not confirmed whether they will attend.

Washington considers Maduro a dictator who stole last year’s election. Along with Peru and most Latin American countries, Washington has recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s rightful leader.

Maduro has refused to step down and has called the United States an imperialist power that wants to control Venezuela’s oil.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Moreno, and the European Union’s representative on Venezuela, Enrique Iglesias, have confirmed they will attend Tuesday’s meeting, the sources said.

Ross’s visit to Peru could coincide with final decisions on licenses requests by U.S. companies seeking to sell to China’s telecoms giant Huawei, which was placed on a blacklist in May.

Ross said during a visit to Brazil this week that responses could come as soon as next week.
Heads of state and government from across the Americas meet in Lima, Peru, for the Eighth Summit of the Americas.