Biden scheduled to join Summit of the Americas

WASHINGTON — President Biden is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday to host a three-day summit meeting of Latin American leaders, where he hopes to demonstrate his ability to confront the economic and migration issues that fuel the region’s most serious challenges.

Even before his first meeting, the president is the subject of a boycott by some of the most important heads of state, who have refused to attend because Biden excluded several dictators in the region. His agenda for the meeting — which includes a series of lofty-sounding announcements — is being met with deep skepticism.

And a caravan of thousands of migrants is making its way north through Mexico in the hopes of crossing into the U.S. while Biden is in California, a small but visible reminder of the problems at the border that have plagued his presidency.

Biden is left facing the unlikely prospect of making serious diplomatic progress at a time when many of his counterparts doubt the United States’ commitment in the region.

“I don’t think this summit was well timed or is destined for great things,” said Andrés Rozental, who was the deputy foreign minister of Mexico for six years. “I don’t hold an enormous amount of hope for any major breakthroughs. People will be skeptical, and then they’ll have to wait and see if anything comes out of it.”

Vice President Kamala Harris said Tuesday that the Biden administration’s work to attract investment to Central America, part of the U.S. effort to reduce migration, has generated $3.2 billion in private-sector commitments.

“We know the American people will benefit from stable and prosperous neighbors,” she said during remarks on the second day of the summit. “And when we provide economic opportunity for people in Central America, we address an important driver of migration.”

Her speech followed a roundtable with female leaders, including entrepreneurs, from Central America.

This week’s summit, which is being hosted by the U.S. for the first time since the inaugural event in 1994, is an opportunity for Harris to connect with leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean as she welcomes them to her home state. Harris has taken just two trips to the region since taking office.

In recent days, she and the president have been working the phones to shore up attendance among leftist leaders who have been critical of the U.S.’ decision to exclude the authoritarian governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela from the Los Angeles summit. But the effort yielded few results. Among those staying home are the presidents of Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras — the only three leaders Harris has met in her two quick trips to the region.