The Summit of the Americas failed to demonstrate an example of international cooperation. Even if the region were a top priority for President Joe Biden (which it isn't), it doesn't have many natural partners to work with.

This week the focus was on who did not come to Los Angeles for the first regional summit since 2018 and the first in the US since 1994.

The leaders of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited, leading to a boycott by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and other leaders from Bolivia and Honduras.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and El Salvadoran President Naib Bukele were also absent. Both disagree with the Biden administration over corruption, and Bukele declined a call from Secretary of State Tony Blinken ahead of the summit, according to the NYT.

The absence of all three Northern Triangle leaders undermines the Biden administration's focus on Vice President Kammala Harris' work on the root causes of migration.

Juan Guaido, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, recognized by Washington as the country's legitimate interim president, was also not invited to Los Angeles, although Biden called him.

The Biden administration attempted to downplay the boycotts and stressed that inviting "dictators" would undermine "past regional commitments to democracy."

However, these snubs are an open challenge to the authority of the regional hegemon. Biden still doesn't have many ideological allies among those who have arrived in Los Angeles other than Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

U.S.-friendly Colombian President Ivan Duque sat next to Biden, but he is already on his way out, and the race for his post is reduced to far-left and right-wing populist candidates.

Biden had to offer Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a meeting to get him to come.

South American politics are shifting to the left, and the presidents of Argentina, Chile, and Peru have spoken out against "neoliberalism," a symbol of US ideological influence in the region. There are a handful of leaders who want a deeper relationship with the US but feel they are not getting it.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso announced his desire for a free trade agreement with the United States in a speech at a business event on the sidelines of the summit. He is unlikely to get it from Biden, who rejects any such agreements. Instead, Lasso is currently negotiating with Beijing.

However, there are major common concerns across the region on issues such as economic recovery, climate and migration, and the White House has prepared a series of announcements to be released these days.

One of these is the American Partnership for Economic Prosperity, a framework still under development to expand cooperation in areas such as supply chains and clean energy.

A senior administration official told reporters that "our most congenial economic partners" would be invited to participate. The official did not name specific countries.

In his speech, Biden said he would put forward proposals that are "a far cry" from what Donald Trump offered to the region. These include the regional migration plan, which will be presented on Friday.