© Reuters. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador attends a news conference at a military base in Apodaca, a suburb of Monterrey, Mexico, on May 13, 2022.REUTERS/Daniel Bethel
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador said on Tuesday the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba was a “genocidal policy”, in a bid to meet with Washington. The stakes have been raised over the Communist Party’s treatment of the Caribbean-led island.
Lopez Obrador, a leftist who has repeatedly called for an end to the U.S. embargo, said in early May that he would not attend next month’s U.S.-hosted event unless all countries in the region were invited. Americas Summit.
Lopez Obrador told a regular government news conference that the U.S. treatment of Cuba “looks bad” and urged Washington to end the blockade.
“This is a genocidal policy,” Lopez Obrador said.
Still, he on Monday welcomed steps taken by the U.S. government to ease some Trump-era restrictions on the island and increase U.S. visa processing for Cubans.
Lopez Obrador, who will meet the U.S. delegation for the Americas summit on Wednesday, plans to explain why Mexico wants all countries in the region to participate.