The function of these summits is to foster discussion of a variety of issues affecting the western hemisphere under the aegis of the Organization of American States.

State Department spokesman Jen Psaki implicitly cautioned that Cuba's attendance of the summit would make a mockery of the spirit of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

[4] For their part, Cuban-American senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio urged Panama to withdraw the invitation for Cuba to attend the summit, insisting that the move could be a slap in the face to the principles of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

[5][6] However, another State Department official hinted that the US would tacitly welcome Cuba's participation in the 2015 Summit of the Americas.

[11] Another summit called the Summit of the Peoples (Cumbre de los Pueblos), which was held at University of Panama on April 9–11, 2015 with the participation of trade unions, organizations of farmers, indigenous people, students, human rights activists, environmentalists, and feminists among others.