A steadily growing list of leaders have followed U.S. President Donald Trump in choosing to send an alternate to what is slated to be a decidedly low-key Summit of the Americas for Western Hemisphere leaders. The regional gathering was set to kick off Friday in Peru without the presence of at least four presidents besides Trump and the list of canceled RSVPs could grow.Cuban President Raul Castro had not officially confirmed his attendance and a high-ranking Peruvian official said it was unlikely he will arrive. Nicaragua’s president was also widely expected to snub the event in solidarity with socialist Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who had his invitation withdrawn.Meanwhile, the presidents of Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Paraguay all announced they will be staying home, saying they need to attend to pressing domestic matters and will send alternates instead.Some analysts said the shrinking list of presidential attendees could be indicative of leaders lowering the priority they place on the summit. Trump is the first U.S. president to ditch the event, which was started by President Bill Clinton in 1994 as a way to assert American trade influence in the region. Trump canceled in order to manage the U.S. response to an apparent chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria. And it isn’t just a rising roster of no-shows that make this year’s summit of the utmost importance: Presidents from three of Latin America’s most populous nations who are attending are all planning to leave office within the next 12 months.The summit was initially started to promote democracy and free trade in the Americas, but in recent years both topics have become testy subjects. Instead the summit has become a stage for wavering U.S. influence in Latin America and awkward encounters between leftist leaders and their northern counterparts. Maduro was barred from this year’s meeting over his plans to hold a presidential election that most of the opposition is boycotting and that many foreign governments are decrying as a sham. The Venezuelan president said Trump’s cancelation was another sign the U.S. still views Latin America as Washington’s backyard.
