Given the political divide in the region, the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Dominican Republic had concentrated more on the business summit for the Summit of the Americas, the leading regional event scheduled for 1 to 5 December 2025 in Punta Cana.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations had delayed sending out the invitations to the Summit of the Americas, acknowledging the lack of cohesion in the region and the new realities introduced by the Trump administration. The reality is that the Summit of the Americas is an event created by the United States government, which apparently can decide who gets invited and who does not, regardless of the opinion of the host country
The political summit of heads of government is a key part of the event and the controversial differences have come to the forefront after the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the DR, the host country, announced that Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba would not be invited.
Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum have now come forward to announce they will not attend the Summit of the Americas in Punta Cana. The Dominican government had the initial intention of inviting all countries in the Americas, but this was changed given that the United States and the OAS are co-hosts.
When asked about Mexican President’s announcement to not come, President Luis Abinader said during the Monday, 13 October 2025 press conference that he would answer the same as President Sheinbaum had answered when asked to comment on the announcement of the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, a “no comment.” Machado is living in hiding after she contested the changes in results Nicolas Maduro enforced following the actual outcome of the Venezuelan elections.
The President of Mexico said her government is studying who to send to the meeting, not outrightly boycotting the event.
Bottom line, the Americas is divided among those who back Maduro as head of government and those who raise the flag of democracy. After the Dominican Republic did not endorse the win of Maduro in the most recent Venezuelan elections, Venezuela removed its diplomatic legation and recommended the DR do the same in Venezuela.
President Luis Abinader has sided with those who contest Maduro staying in power, backing instead Maria Corina Machado. Thus, when it was announced that Machado had won the Nobel Peace Prize, he promptly congratulated her. The Nobel Committee in Oslo awarded Machado the prize in recognition of what it called “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.” Shortly after the nomination, the government of Venezuela closed the embassy in Norway.
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Noble Prize
El Caribe
16 October 2025