The Summit of the Americas is scheduled to take place on June 6th, but recent controversy has called into question whether or not it will happen. Because Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua have not been invited to the event, some world leaders have expressed that “if everyone is not invited,” they will not be attending. With news that the Cuban regime would receive an invitation to the summit, the Rubio team is calling on Florida Rep. Val Demings (D) to condemn the invitation extended by President Joe Biden (D).
In a statement, Laura Ortiz, the Hispanic Media Director for the Marco Rubio campaign, criticized Demings for not speaking out on the alleged invitation.
“Val Demings repeatedly refuses to condemn Joe Biden’s disastrous foreign policy towards the Western Hemisphere, and that hasn’t changed with his latest decision to invite a member of the Cuban regime to attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas here in the United States," said Ortiz, adding that "Demings only started paying attention to Cuba after she decided to run for the U.S. Senate."
Ortiz warned that "Cuban-Americans throughout Florida see right through Demings’ political opportunism."
The comments come before Demings is set to travel to South Florida as she seeks to unseat Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R).
A number of world leaders have called for the aforementioned countries to be involved.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed that "if everyone is not invited," he would not be attending the Summit, and Caribbean leaders shared the sentiment, affirming that the Summit must “be inclusive by ensuring the participation of all countries of the hemisphere."
The President has not confirmed if officials from the Cuban regime would be involved, but earlier this week, Florida Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D), the president's Summit advisory, recently expressed that the president would not be inviting officials from the aforementioned countries.
“The President has been very firm. And the White House is very firm on not inviting those governments that are not going to make a commitment to democracy and democratic institutions. He is not willing to give a seat at the table to those leaders that have violated human rights," Mucarsel-Powell said last week at the Florida International University’s Western Hemispheric Security Conference.
