President Luis Abinader has moved to clarify the complex diplomatic situation surrounding the upcoming X Summit of the Americas in Punta Cana, stating that while the Dominican Republic is the host nation, the United States remains the principal convener and is ultimately responsible for the attendee list, as reported in Listin Diario.
The high-stakes presidential summit, set for 4-5 December 2025, has been mired in controversy following the Dominican government’s announcement in late September that Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela were not invited. The exclusion was justified on the grounds that these nations are not members of the Organization of American States (OAS) and were also absent from the previous summit in Los Angeles in June 2022.
Speaking to reporters, President Abinader drew a clear distinction between the roles of host and convener, emphasizing that the Summit of the Americas is a US-created and US-promoted event.
“It is good to remember two points about the Summit of the Americas,” Abinader stated. “While we are the host, the convener of the summit is the United States; it is a summit that the United States created and that the United States promotes. It is the same as the Ibero-American Summit —although we held it in 2023, the convener is Spain. So, there are situations that are created between the United States and other countries.”
The fallout from the controversial decision has already begun to ripple across the hemisphere. The Presidents of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, have already announced their withdrawal from the 2025 event in protest of the exclusions.
Despite the diplomatic firestorm, President Abinader sought to broaden the focus, stressing that the meeting is much more than a gathering of heads of state.
“The Presidents’ Summit is just the final part,” he explained. “You have the Business Summit, which is extremely important; you have the Civil Society Summit; you have the Youth Summit; meetings are held on the environment. We expect to have great activities here.”
The ancillary events, which include the V CEO Summit of the Americas and the VII Young Americas Forum, are scheduled to take place in the days immediately preceding the main presidential session in Punta Cana, underscoring the broader, multi-sectoral focus of the overall Summit of the Americas process.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
La Semanal 20 October 2025
21 October 2025