This Thursday, November 2, the US president, Joe Biden, received the presidents of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, and of Chile, Gabriel Boric, one day before the meeting of the Alliance for Economic Prosperity of the Americas (APEP). . In the dialogues that he had with his counterparts there are topics such as the migration crisis facing the region, the situation in Haiti and the White House sanctions on countries like Venezuela and Cuba.
This Thursday, prior to the summit of the Alliance for Economic Prosperity of the Americas, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, received his Chilean counterpart, Gabriel Boric. After the meeting, the Chilean president spoke out—again—about the escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
“These Hamas attacks have no justification, they deserve global condemnation, but the response of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government also deserves our clearest condemnation,” Boric said after his meeting with Biden at the White House.
The Chilean leader assured that Israel’s actions are violating international law. “There is no doubt that we can say that the response has been disproportionate and violates international humanitarian law,” Boric said. He also noted that “the right of a State to defend itself has limits, and those limits involve respecting the lives of innocent civilians, especially children, and respecting civil humanitarian law.”
For his part, Biden, as tenant of the White House, is increasingly under pressure from different actors in the international community for not having called for a ceasefire to stop the continuous attacks between Israel and Hamas. However, the US government has said it supports a series of “pauses” in the fighting for the evacuation of civilians and access for humanitarian aid.
In addition to this, the leaders of Chile and the United States also discussed their efforts to safeguard democracy in Latin America, recalling Washington’s decision to lift trade sanctions – related to gas, gold and oil – on Venezuela.
In fact, The Venezuelan political situation is one of the most critical points in the Latin American region. Regarding this, Boric assured that he spoke with Biden about the need to work with countries like Argentina and Brazil to guarantee free elections in Venezuela next year.
Cuba was also among the topics of conversation. The Chilean president asked his American counterpart to lift the sanctions he imposed on the island and remove it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
“We understand that this issue raises strong emotions in the United States. However, we must consider that these sanctions are not directed only at one government, but are affecting an entire population. When a people suffers, it should concern us all,” he said. Boric.
Haiti, at the center of the meeting between Biden and Abinader
A bilateral meeting between the leaders of the Dominican Republic and the United States also took place at the White House. In the Oval Office, Biden and his Dominican counterpart, Luis Abinader, held conversations this Thursday regarding the crisis facing Haiti and the strengthening of economic cooperation processes between both countries.
The dialogue began, according to Biden, remembering their last meeting in 2017. At that time, the current president held the position of vice president of his country during the Administration of former President Barack Obama.
Moments later, Haiti was part of the conversation. Regarding the critical situation in the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic, the United Nations Security Council approved at the beginning of last month the deployment for one year – extendable – of a multinational assistance force for the Haitian Police. This, in response to the call for help from the Haitian Government due to the uncontrollable violence that is plaguing the country at the hands of criminal groups.
Regarding this, Biden stated: “Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership, indeed, for your initiative in the region, and finally for working together on the historic humanitarian security situation in Haiti.”
In addition, the US president recalled part of his comments during the UN General Assembly in September of this year. Biden noted that “the people of Haiti cannot wait”and expressed his desire to continue the work of supporting, in the company of Abinader, the multinational force led by Kenya.
Although the Dominican president supports international efforts to establish the situation in his neighboring country, he has said on previous occasions that the Dominican Republic has already contributed significantly to the improvement of the situation in Haiti.
What is APEP about?
This Friday in Washington, seven leaders from the Latin American region have an appointment with the US president: Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Dina Boluarte (Peru), Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay), Luis Abinader (Dominican Republic), Rodrigo Chaves, (Costa Rica) and the Mexican Foreign Minister, Alicia Bárcena.
The objective? Discuss greater economic investments in the region and talk about the historic levels of migration that Latin States must face.
At the summit of the Alliance for Economic Prosperity of the Americas (APEP)—an initiative of the Biden Administration in mid-2022—the US Government will listen to what Latin American leaders have to say about the topics described above. The meeting, however, takes place in the midst of an environment marked by strong geopolitical tensions outside the American continent: the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
For Washington, the objective is to reaffirm the “commitment” to “deepen the economic integration” of the continent. Thus, the US Government hopes to revive “strategic” alliances with the region. The meeting is also seen as an opportunity to diversify its supply chain, according to information from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
As the official states, the injection of capital to Latin America could have an increase in the continent’s commercial possibilities through the promotion of renewable energies and the production of semiconductors and medical supplies.
With EFE and Reuters
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