MEXICO CITY -Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday the U.S. economic embargo of Cuba was “genocidal policy,” raising the stakes in a standoff with Washington over its treatment of the Communist-ruled Caribbean island.
Lopez Obrador, a leftist who has repeatedly called for the United States to end the embargo, said earlier in May that he would not attend the U.S.-hosted Summit of the Americas next month unless all countries in the region were invited.
Speaking at a regular government news conference, Lopez Obrador said the United States “looked bad” in how it was treating Cuba, and urged Washington to end the embargo.
“It’s a genocidal policy,” Lopez Obrador said.
Still, he welcomed moves by the U.S. government on Monday that will ease some Trump-era restrictions on the island and increase processing of U.S. visas for Cubans.
Lopez Obrador on Wednesday is due to meet with a U.S. delegation for the Summit of the Americas in which he plans to explain why Mexico wants all countries in the region to attend.
(Reporting by Kylie MadryEditing by Dave Graham)
