Syria, trade, China overshadow summit
More join Trump in dropping out of Americas Summit
LIMA, April 14, (Agencies): Latin American leaders met in Peru for a regional summit on Friday that was overshadowed by Washington’s decision to order military strikes on Syria, prompting US Vice-President Mike Pence to abruptly leave the opening ceremony.
Pence had been sent to the Summit of the Americas in the capital, Lima, in place of President Donald Trump, who decided to focus on a response to a suspected poison gas attack in Syria that killed at least 60 people last week.
But as the summit began late on Friday, Pence cut short his participation to race to his hotel, arriving in time to make secure calls to Republican and Democratic congressional leaders before the strikes started.
Within an hour, the attacks had ended and Pence planned to return to a banquet at Peru’s presidential palace with other leaders from the region.
Despite Trump’s absence, US officials sought to use the summit to counter China’s rising influence in Latin America and condemn Venezuela’s government.
Syria is also on the agenda now. Pence’s deputy chief of staff, Jarrod Agen, told Reuters he planned to discuss the strikes in his speech on Saturday and in meetings with leaders.
Earlier on Friday, Pence met Venezuelan opposition leaders and announced $16 million in aid to help Venezuelan migrants who have fled their country’s severe economic crisis.
A dozen countries in the region have already been turning up the pressure on socialist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and are expected to back a statement on the sidelines of the summit condemning the widely-criticized May 20 election.
But there was less agreement with Washington on trade.
Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera, part of a conservative shift in South America in recent years, recalled how free trade was celebrated across the region at the first Summit of the Americas in 1994.
“Today, we have the president of the United States facing a trade war with China and other countries,” Pinera said on a panel at a joint business summit on Friday.
The trade dispute between Beijing and Washington spilled over into Latin America this week. In Lima, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross took aim at China’s growing ties and vowed Washington would not cede leadership in the region.
Meanwhile, a steadily growing list of leaders have followed US President Donald Trump in choosing to send an alternate to what is slated to be a decidedly low-key Summit of the Americas for Western Hemisphere leaders.
The regional gathering was set to kick off Friday in Peru without the presence of at least four presidents besides Trump — and the list of canceled RSVPs could grow.
Cuban President Raul Castro had not officially confirmed his attendance and a high-ranking Peruvian official said it was unlikely he will arrive. Nicaragua’s president was also widely expected to snub the event in solidarity with socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who had his invitation withdrawn.
Meanwhile, the presidents of Ecuador, 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.