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The dictatorships of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua assumed that the summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) It could mean a geopolitical opportunity to hide their ongoing human rights abuses and obtain extraordinary financial assistance to prolong the suffering of their economies depending on the arbitrary decision of Vladimir Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in China.
But the journey undertaken by Miguel Díaz-Canel, Delicy Rodríguez, and Denis Moncada did not culminate in a Latin American, Caribbean, and European Union summit with a single multilateral economic benefit in favor of populist regimes operating without institutional control in Havana, Caracas, and Managua. Top European leaders posed for the photo. They avoided international aid grants that could affect their domestic agenda.
Diaz-Canel meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is critical of the human rights situation in Cuba. The meeting was short and involved a diplomatic failure to the communist regime.
The official Twitter account run by Schulz’s contacts made no mention of the bilateral meeting with the Cuban dictator, and there was no mention on Twitter of the German Information Center for Latin America, which reproduced – with texts and photos – the German chancellor’s meetings with Alberto Fernandez and Lula da Silva.
Diaz-Canel did not care about Berlin’s deliberate diplomatic silence, And he posted a personal tweet as if there were volatile relations between his dictatorial regime and the democratic government led by Schulz.
We affirm our readiness to deepen the political dialogue. As well as interest in strengthening and expanding economic relations, Trade and cooperation in sectors of common interest,” the communist leader said on his social media.
Delcy Rodriguez, Vice President of Venezuela, did not improve Diaz-Canel’s diplomatic record. He landed in Brussels due to a legal exception – he is barred from entering Europe for his alleged participation in human rights abuses – and He barely caught protocol smiles During the 72 hours he spent in Belgium.
Under direct instructions from dictator Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez participated in a multilateral meeting to discuss the democratic process in Venezuela, and at that meeting she refused to acknowledge that opposition leader Corina Machado had been banned.
The meeting was promoted by Emmanuel Macron, Lula da Silva, Alberto Fernandez and Gustavo Petro, who support this dialogue to get the electoral process in Venezuela back on track. But Maduro’s envoy put up stiff resistance to Machado’s cause, The diplomatic appointment was reduced to an official declaration endorsed by the presidents of France, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and the European Union.
Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega sent Foreign Minister Denis Moncada as his representative to the CELAC-EU summit. Moncada was a diplomatic pariah at the sessions and had only smooth contacts with the Venezuelan and Cuban delegations.
Ortega’s foreign minister unsuccessfully tried to block the joint statement between the two regional blocs that condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and in the face of political failure Finally, Nicaragua did not endorse the final document. “This statement was endorsed by all countries except one because of their disagreement with Paragraph,” the official statement also included in an oval reference to the Caribbean nation.
Alberto Fernandez exhumed the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to further his multilateral agenda. But his government is ending, and his successor is unlikely to continue the useful life of a regional forum that does not condemn and exclude the dictatorships of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.
If there is no diplomatic miracle, another summit between GRULAC and the European Union will be very difficult. Little is given by taking a picture with Díaz-Canel, Delcy Rodríguez or Denis Moncada.
