8th Summit of the Americas
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The eighth Summit of the Americas was held in
Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
,
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
, from April 13–14, 2018. The main focus of the summit was anti-corruption following the outbreak of the
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, which affected numerous countries in the region, while attention was also put upon the
crisis in Venezuela The crisis in Venezuela is an ongoing socioeconomic and political crisis that began in Venezuela during the presidency of Hugo Chávez and has worsened in Nicolás Maduro's presidency. It has been marked by hyperinflation, escalating starvation ...
.


Background

The 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama was held in a positive atmosphere, largely thanks to
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
's normalization of relations with Cuba, which was welcomed by the rest of the Western Hemisphere as a long-overdue rectification of a Cold War relic, considering that Latin American leaders, especially those in Bolivia and Venezuela, warned at the 2012 Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, that the holding the 2015 summit was impossible without Cuba's participation. However,
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in June 2017 announced a reinvigorated hardline towards Cuba by banning U.S. business transactions with Cuban companies run by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and imposing some restrictions on Americans' travel to Cuba (banning Americans from visiting military-run establishments). He has also imposed economic sanctions against Venezuela, arguing President Nicolas Maduro's disrespect for his country's democratic institutions. On February 13, 2018, Peru revoked Venezuela's invitation to the Summit because of Maduro's plan to hold an early
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, as the major opposing parties were banned from it. Maduro insisted that he would attend the summit anyway, but eventually declined from doing so on April 10.
Delsa Solórzano Delsa Jennifer Solórzano Bernal (born 15 November 1971) is a Venezuelan lawyer and politician. She is currently a deputy of the National Assembly and president of the Internal Affairs Parliamentary Commission, as well as vice president of the Par ...
would represent Venezuela in the summit instead. Solórzano is a deputy and the Vice President of A New Era, an opposition political party. On April 10, 2018, U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
stated he would not attend the Summit in order to focus on the fallout of the
Douma chemical attack On 7 April 2018, a chemical warfare attack was carried out by forces of the government of Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian city of Douma. Medics and witnesses reported that it caused the deaths of between 40 and 50 people and injuries to possi ...
. Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
attended in his place.


Events


13 April

The President of Ecuador
Lenín Moreno Lenín Voltaire Moreno Garcés (; born 19 March 1953) is an Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as ...
visited Peru, but left a short time before the summit could start. A hostage crisis at the Colombian border caused the suspected death of two journalists, and he announced that he would take military action unless the captors proved otherwise within a 12-hours time frame. U.S. Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
announced that the
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and
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would provide $16 million to the
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to fund aid for Venezuelan refugees in Brazil and Colombia affected during the
Bolivarian diaspora The Venezuelan migration and refugee crisis, the largest recorded refugee crisis in the Americas, * * * * refers to the emigration of millions of Venezuelans from their native country during the presidencies of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás M ...
.


14 April

Many of the countries present at the summit condemned the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela, specifically embattled President
Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and president of Venezuela since 2013, with his presidency under dispute since 2019. Beginning his working life as a bus driver, Maduro rose to become a trade unio ...
, and made statements rejecting the recognition of upcoming presidential elections. Vice President of the United States Mike Pence stated, "Every free nation gathered here must take action to isolate the Maduro regime. We must all stand with our brothers and sisters suffering in Venezuela", blaming Cuba for creating and defending corrupt governments in Latin America. Venezuela's allies Bolivia and Cuba defended President Maduro, criticizing his ban from the summit. Foreign Minister of Cuba Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla called the United States a racist country while also criticizing the bombings of Damascus and Homs and the
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. Countries also signed the "Lima Commitment" to agree on methods of combatting corruption in the region, with the proposal to create multi-national mechanisms of cooperation and anti-graft laws. Some countries such as Bolivia stated that the document would be used to "topple legitimate governments", comparing it to the
war on drugs The war on drugs is a Globalization, global campaign, led by the United States federal government, of prohibition of drugs, drug prohibition, military aid, and military intervention, with the aim of reducing the illegal drug trade in the Unite ...
, with Bolivian president Evo Morales stating that the United States was the "main threat against democracy, against peace, against freedom".


Delegation leaders


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summit Of The Americas 2018 Organization of American States Politics of the Americas 21st-century diplomatic conferences 2018 conferences 2018 in international relations 2018 in North America 2018 in South America 2018 in Peru Diplomatic conferences in Peru 2010s in Lima April 2018 events in South America