3-23-09, 10:11 am

HAVANA, Cuba, March 23 (acn) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez insisted on Sunday that Washington should end its economic blockade of Cuba and warned US President Barack Obama that he should respect everyone if he wants good relations with the Latin American and Caribbean region.

'His moral obligation is to end this criminal blockade and to comply with the resolutions of the UN General Assembly,' Chavez said.

According to Prensa Latina news agency, during his weekly radio and television program 'Alo, Presidente', the Venezuelan leader confirmed that he will attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas that will take place next month in Trinidad and Tobago. He also criticized the exclusion of Cuba from this event and stressed that he will address the issue during the meeting.

'Why is Cuba absent if it is a friend of all of us? We can't continue to accept US imperial impositions. This continent has to be free,' Chavez concluded.

From the Cuban News Agency