Correa Criticizes US for Attempt to Exclude Cuba

HAVANA TIMES, Feb 17 — Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa criticized the United States on Thursday for its attempts to exclude Cuba from the Summit of the Americas, and he reiterated that the continental gathering could not be conceived of without the participation of the Caribbean island, reported the Prensa Latina news agency.

Correa said: “Latin America is undergoing a change of the epoch and is no longer a colony. It doesn’t have to ask permission from anyone for making sovereign decisions.”

“We ourselves can lay down as a condition — self-proclaiming ourselves as the arbiters of right and wrong — that no country that has invaded another country can participate in the summit,” he said, referring to statements by a spokesperson from the US State Department objecting to the attendance of Cuba at the continental assembly.

Colombia, as the summit host, is acting as mediator in the conflict between the ALBA countries and the US, as it attempts to get all nations of the Americas to attend the Summit set for mid-April in Cartagena.