Cuba was not present at the recent Sixth Summit of the Americas, held April 14-15 in this seaside Colombian city of Cartagena, but it was the most contentious topic during the two days of debate.
The summit brought together 29 of the 34 heads of state invited. Cuba has never been invited to the summits, which technically involve all the countries that are members of the Organization of American States, or OAS, since they began in 1994 with the idea of establishing the Free Trade Area of the Americas, a plan that later fizzled.
This year, however, it was obvious in the run-up to the summit that Cuba was going to be on the agenda. And it is primary reason the leaders who attended opted against producing a final declaration.
