The Ninth Summit of the Americas was an international conference held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, from June 6 to 10, 2022. The theme was "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future".

Background

The

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

announced in January 2022 that the City of Los Angeles would serve as host. As host, the United States selects the site of the summit and its attendees. The United States did not invite

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

to the summit as these countries are accused of having undemocratically elected leaders. It was known the US would not invite these leaders. The White House and State Department did not announce an official invitation list until May 30. Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

, was the first to announce he would not attend the summit if all nations were not in attendance. López Obrador stated he would send his foreign secretary to the summit in his place. Other leaders followed, such as Xiomara Castro, the

President of Honduras The president of Honduras ( es, Presidente de Honduras) officially known as the President of the Republic of Honduras (Spanish: ''Presidente de la República de Honduras''), is the head of state and head of government of Honduras, and the Comm ...

;

Luis Arce Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (; born 28 September 1963), often referred to as Lucho, is a Bolivian banker, economist, and politician serving as the 67th president of Bolivia since 2020. A member of the Movement for Socialism, he previously serve ...

, the President of Bolivia;

Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who is the 43rd president of El Salvador, serving since 1 June 2019. He is the first president since José Napoleón Duarte (1984–1989) not to have ...

, the

President of El Salvador The president of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de El Salvador), officially known as the President of the Republic of El Salvador ( es, Presidente de la República de El Salvador), is the Head of State, head of state and Head of Government, head ...

; and

Ralph Gonsalves Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born 8 August 1946) is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).

, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Cuban President

Miguel Díaz-Canel Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel y Bermúdez (; born 20 April 1960) also known as MADCB, is a politician and engineer who is the third first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. Díaz-Canel succeeds the brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, making ...

and Nicaraguan President

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...

said they would not attend the summit if invited. The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

led efforts to galvanize support for the summit and keep other nations from not attending. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols stated the US will not invite countries that do not respect democracy. Alejandro Giammattei, the

President of Guatemala The president of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de Guatemala), officially known as the President of the Republic of Guatemala ( es, Presidente de la República de Guatemala), is the head of state and head of government of Guatemala, elected to a ...

, stated he would not attend the summit after the US criticized his government's reappointment of María Consuelo Porras as attorney general, who had been accused of undermining corruption investigations. Uruguayan President

Luis Lacalle Pou Luis Alberto Aparicio Alejandro Lacalle Pou (; ''Luis Lacalle'' locally or ; born 10 August 1973) is a Uruguayan politician and lawyer serving as President of Uruguay since 1 March 2020. Son of former president Luis Alberto Lacalle, Lacalle ...

had been scheduled to attend, but cancelled after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell announced he would not attend due to the current election cycle in his country. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia, Uruguay, Grenada, and Saint Kitts and Nevis sent a delegation headed by their respective secretaries or ambassadors. Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had no government delegation at the summit.

Events

Monday June 6

Pre-Summit Civil Society Forum.

Tuesday June 7

Civil Society Forum, Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas.

Wednesday June 8

Civil Society Forum, Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas. The inauguration ceremony was held at the

Microsoft Theater The Microsoft Theater (formerly Nokia Theatre L.A. Live) is a music and theater venue in downtown Los Angeles, California, at L.A. Live. The theater auditorium seats 7,100 and holds one of the largest indoor stages in the United States. History ...

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

. Music producer Emilio Estefan organized the musical performances. Performances by Alex Fernandez Jr.,

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

and music written for the event by Estefan himself. The song was sung by a teenage choir. Welcome speeches were given by Mayor

Eric Garcetti Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...

, California Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...

and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Thursday June 9

Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas, First plenary session. After the first plenary session held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown Los Angeles, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden held a dinner for world leaders and their spouses at the Getty Villa museum in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Second Gentleman

Douglas Emhoff Douglas Craig Emhoff (born October 13, 1964) is an American lawyer who is the second gentleman of the United States. He is married to the 49th vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris. As the first-ever husband of a vice president, Em ...

hosted a dinner for foreign secretaries and their delegations at the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

(LACMA). In attendance was the Los Angeles Latin diplomatic corps, the Los Angeles Consular Corps, California's two U.S. senators, a congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...

, California Governor

and local county and city leaders.

Friday June 10

Second and third plenary session. Twenty countries signed on to the "Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection in the Americas".

Delegation leaders

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summit Of The Americas 2022 Organization of American States Politics of the Americas 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2022 conferences 2022 in international relations 2022 in North America 2022 in South America Diplomatic conferences in the United States 2022 in Los Angeles Events in Los Angeles June 2022 events in the United States