Summits of the Americas

The Summits of the Americas (SOA) is a series of international summit meetings bringing together the leaders of countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean; however, no representative from Cuba has participated.[1]  The meetings provide an opportunity for discussions about a variety of issues and topics.

The summits have been organized by a number of multilateral bodies led by the Organization of American States.

In the early 1990s, what were formerly ad hoc summits came to be institutionalized into a regular "Summit of the Americas" based on the principles of democracy and free trade.[2] The summits that garnered most general public and media attention were the Quebec City  and Mar del Plata  events, both of which provoked very large anti-globalization and anti–Free Trade Area of the Americas protests and attendant police response.
 * December 9–11, 1994 [3]  -- 1st Summit of the Americas at Miami in the United States.[4]
 * December 7–8, 1996 [3]  -- Summit of the Americas on Sustainable Development at Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia.[5]
 * April 18–19, 1998 [3]  -- 2nd Summit of the Americas at Santiago in Chile.[6]
 * April 20–22, 2001 [3]  -- 3rd Summit of the Americas, in Quebec City, Canada.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-7" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[7]
 * January 12–13, 2004 <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-summits_3-4" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  -- Monterrey Special Summit of the Americas at Monterrey in Mexico.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[8]
 * November 4–5, 2005 <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-summits_3-5" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  -- 4th Summit of the Americas at Mar del Plata in Argentina.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[9]
 * April 17–19, 2009 <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-summits_3-6" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[3]  -- 5th Summit of the Americas at Port-of-Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[10]
 * April 14–15, 2012 -- 6th Summit of the Americas at Cartagena in Colombia.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="line-height:1em;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;">[11]
 * 2015 -- 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama.
 * 2018 -- 8th Summit of the Americas in Suriname.