Colombia took a neutral stance Monday on Cuba’s exclusion from the upcoming Summit of the Americas, reported local media Monday.
Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said Monday, “It is not up to Colombia to invite Cuba to the Summit of the Americas,” in response to the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Latin America (ALBA)’s threat to boycott the international summit if Cuba is not invited to attend.
“From now on I propose that if Cuba is not invited to the Summit of Americas, no member of ALBA is to attend the summit,” said Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa this weekend. ALBA was founded by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2004 and consists of Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela.
The Organization of American States (OAS)-sponsored summit is due to take place in Cartagena on April 14 and 15.
Cuba was a founding member of the OAS but was suspended from the group between 1962 and 2009 due to tensions with the U.S..