Biden rebuked as he pitches economic plan at Americas summit

US President Joe Biden has laid out his pitch to leaders from the Americas for a new economic partnership at the start of a regional summit, even as he faced open rebuke over the exclusion of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

Speaking at the opening session of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on Thursday, Biden said his administration was committed to helping Latin America and the Caribbean recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, tackle irregular migration and improve living standards.

But he quickly faced sharp pushback over his decision to cut out Washington's three main regional antagonists, which spurred a boycott by some leaders led by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, dealing a blow to Biden's effort to reassert US leadership.

Shortly after Biden's speech that extolled the virtues of democracy in the region, Belize's Prime Minister John Briceno, criticised the exclusion of Communist-ruled Cuba and leftist Venezuela, calling the "illegal blockade against Cuba" an "affront to humanity."

"In fact, it is un-American. The time has come, Mr. President, to lift the blockade," Briceno said, confronting Biden as he sat only a few feet away from him.

Briceno was followed by Argentina's left-leaning president, Alberto Fernandez, who declared "the silence of those who are absent is calling to us" and insisted that the host country did not have the power to impose the "right of admission" to the conference.

READ MORE: With eyes on China, US unveils new Latin America economic plan at summit

China factor

Biden outlined his proposed "Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity" to the business conference, saying it was aimed at bringing supply chains closer to home, reforming the Inter-American Development Bank, streamlining investment and kicking climate actions "into high gear."

But the plan, which appears to be a work in progress lacking many specifics, stops short of offering tariff relief and will initially focus on countries that already have US trade accords.

US officials have openly accused China of pushing deals in the developing world with strings attached to saddle their partners with long-term debt.

With problems at the US-Mexico border also high on Biden's list of priorities, leaders were poised to issue a declaration on Friday pledging measures to curb irregular migration and help countries hosting large numbers of migrants to cope with them, according to a draft document seen by Reuters news agency.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the document was final.

READ MORE: Summit of the Americas eyes plan to mitigate 'impact of migration'