CARTAGENA: TheUnited States was under growing pressure here Sunday to letCuba attend future regional summits as Latin American leaders blasted theUS stance, calling it anachronistic and counterproductive.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, host of theSummitof theAmericas, said Saturday it would be "unacceptable" to keepCubaout of the next gathering.
"The isolation, the indifference has shown its ineffectiveness. In today's world, there is no justification for this anachronism," he stressed.
Cubahas never taken part in aSummitof theAmericas, a regular meeting sponsored by the US-based Organization of American States (OAS).
The Colombian's leader's statement was echoed by remarks by his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, who argued that all Latin American states backedCuba's participation in the summits.
"It is just impossible for one country to oppose the will of others and not listen to them." the Bolivian president said.
Washingtonargues that communist-ruledCubais not eligible to attend because it lacks democratic credentials and does not "respect the human rights of the Cuban people."
Cubawas expelled from the OAS in 1962 at the height of the Cold War. The expulsion was rescinded in 2009, butCubahas refused to return to the organization.
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa is boycotting the summit because of the exclusion ofCuba, one of its allies and theAmericas' only one-party Communist state.
Saturday, an alliance of left-leaning Latin American countries known as ALBA announced here that its members would not take part in any future summits of theAmericasifCubawere not included.
"We express our decision not to take part in future Summits of the Americas without the presence of Cuba," ALBA, which groups Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said in a statement.
It also demanded an immediate end toWashington's 50-year-old "inhuman economic, trade and financial embargo againstCuba" and urged regional countries "to continue to maintain its united solidarity in favor ofCuba's admission to the summit".
The two-day summit formally opened earlier Saturday with US President Barack Obama and 30 other democratically-elected leaders of theWestern Hemispherein attendance.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, speaking at a business forum ahead of the summit, urged Obama to treatLatin Americaas an equal.
"In Latin America, we have a huge space to make our relationship one of partnership, but partnership between equals," said Rousseff, whose country has gained mounting international clout as the world's sixth largest economy and Latin America's dominant power.
In addition toCuba, many Latin American leaders sought to focus on the pros and cons of drug legalization.
Several Central American leaders met here on the sidelines of the summit to discussGuatemala's proposal to consider legalizing street drug consumption. But they failed to reach consensus.
Guatemalan President Otto Perez insisted that his idea remained very much alive and voiced hope it would be taken up at a private meeting of hemispheric leaders.
Speaking at the business forum, Obama meanwhile said he favored a debate on the issue. On Friday, he said he opposed decriminalization or legalization of drugs.
"I think it is a valuable agenda to have a conversation whether the laws in place are laws that are doing more harm than good in certain places," theUSleader said Saturday.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is suffering from cancer, did not make the trip toCartagenaon the advice of his doctors. Instead, he flew toCubafor further radiation therapy to treat a recurrence of cancer.
Also absent was Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. No reason was immediately given.
In the fallout of an embarrassing incident, the US Secret Service said Saturday it had suspended 11 agents assigned to Obama's trip toColombiaamid reports they had used prostitutes.
FiveUSmilitary personnel are also being investigated for misconduct said to have taken place at the same hotel where the Secret Service staff were staying inCartagena, and have been confined to barracks.
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