Gobierno de Mexico

Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Next month, the United States is set to host the Ninth Summit of the Americas — a gathering of leaders from across the Western Hemisphere. But Mexico’s president is threatening to boycott the meeting if the U.S. fails to invite the leaders of some other countries.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this week that he will not attend the Summit of the Americas if the U.S. excludes leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and particularly Cuba.

He said the meeting should be about unity and that if some leaders aren’t invited he would send a representative, but would not attend himself.

Several other Latin American and Caribbean leaders have also said they may not attend the summit, scheduled for June 6-10.

So far, the United States has not sent out invitations. But officials have previously said leaders from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua would not be included because of their human rights records.

The summit, which takes place every three years, is expected to focus on issues of migration, climate change and democracy.