Latin America summit excludes U.S. and welcomes Cuba

Raymond Colitt Reuters UK 12/17/2008 23:07

COSTA DO SAUIPE, Brazil (Reuters) - Latin American leaders on Tuesday blamed the global economic crisis on rich countries and welcomed Communist-run Cuba at a summit meeting designed to weaken U.S. influence in the region.

The presence of Cuban President Raul Castro at the meeting in northeastern Brazil was touted as a sign of Latin America's growing independence from the United States, a far cry from the Cold War era when Cuba was expelled from the Washington-based Organisation of American States.

"Cuba returns to where it always belonged. We're complete, we're forming a team, a good team," said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the region's most vehement U.S. critic and Cuba's closest ally.

"The most positive thing for the independence of our continent is that we meet alone without the hegemony of the empire," Chavez said in reference to the United States.

Previous summits of Latin American and Caribbean leaders have always included former colonial powers Spain and Portugal or the United States.

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