Interview: Summit of the Americas a mechanism U.S. uses to dominate Latin America, Caribbean, says Venezuelan expert

CARACAS, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to exclude Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua from the 9th Summit of the Americas, which will take place June 6-10 in Los Angeles, California, is part of an "aggressive foreign policy against the people" of the continent, said Venezuelan political analyst Fernando Rivero.

"The Summit of the Americas is part of the U.S. imperialist agenda on the American continent," Rivero told Xinhua in an interview in Caracas.

The philosopher and lawyer argued that by trying to exclude sovereign countries from the summit, the United States is repeating its aggressive foreign policy against the people of the continent, trying to apply a neo-colonial policy in the region.

The exclusion has had a "boomerang" effect because various organizations and governments have spoken out against it, Rivero said.

He said that the excluded countries not only "form the center of gravity of the ALBA-TCP (Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - Peoples' Trade Treaty), but at the same time they are the containment dam against the imposition of U.S. plans for Latin America and the Caribbean."

Founded initially by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004, the ALBA bloc aims to reduce Latin America's reliance on Western aid by promoting intra-regional alliances and cooperation in key sectors such as energy and trade.

The expert added that to speak of America is to speak of integration, and in this sense, he believes that "Latin American integration is underpinned by these three countries (Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua), along with other sister nations that have been making a great effort."

There is a current need to strengthen regional organizations such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations as well as to push for unity among the people, he said.

"CELAC is the natural space for the convergence of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean," Rivero added.