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Cuban President Raul Castro said Thursday that Havana is prepared to discuss any issue Washington wants, including human rights, press freedoms and political prisoners. But he insisted the island be treated as an equal.
Many Latin American leaders are demanding Mr. Obama lift the 47-year-old U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he and his allies will vote against the final declaration of the summit to protest the embargo.
Cuba was not invited to Friday's summit.
In a newspaper editorial Thursday, Mr. Obama said the summit offers the opportunity of "a new beginning" in the relationship between the U.S. and Latin America.
Mr. Obama is on his first trip to Latin America since becoming president. While in Mexico City, he met with President Felipe Calderon to discuss fighting the escalating drug war in Mexico that has killed more than 7,000 people since the beginning of last year - violence that is spilling over into U.S. border communities.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP. By VOA News.
Posted April 17th, 2009 by Armen Hareyan
