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Trinidad's U.S. ambassador told The Miami Herald that America's Cuba policy will be discussed at a this month's regional summit.

By FRANCES ROBLES

Cuba promises to be a hot topic at the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, as more Latin American leaders push for the communist country to be embraced by hemispheric organizations, Trinidad's ambassador said Tuesday.

At a meeting with The Miami Herald, Trinidad's ambassador to Washington, Glenda Patricia Morean-Phillip, said Cuba may not be on the official agenda, but it's certainly on everyone's lips.

''One issue that is expected to come up -- especially from your president -- is Cuba, because that's on everybody's mind,'' Morean-Phillip said. ``Latins are very much in favor of admitting Cuba to the hemispheric organizations. I think there is a lot of sympathy and support.''

Trinidad will be hosting 33 hemispheric leaders April 17-19. The United States is bringing a delegation that's more than 1,000 people strong, she said.

In all, up to 7,000 people are expected to visit the island, she said. Cruise ships will handle hotel overflow.

''We may be small, but we punch above our weight,'' she said, insisting that the country of 1.3 million is up to the daunting task of hosting so many visitors.

Among those she said is not expected to pop in uninvited: Cuban leader Raúl Castro. Prime Minister Patrick Manning invited Castro to visit Trinidad, and Castro accepted, the Cuban media reported. But the hemisphere's last military dictator is not expected to attend the summit uninvited.

Manning, currently in Cuba getting a health check-up, met with Castro on Sunday. The prime minister had a cancerous left kidney removed on the island last December and also previously had pacemaker surgery there, according to the Trinidadian media.

Manning is one of about a dozen hemispheric heads of state who have visited Cuba in the past weeks. The parade of presidential visits has added to the mounting pressure on the Obama administration to address Cuba policy.

President Barack Obama is widely expected to announce revisions to the rules that restrict how often Cuban Americans can visit family there. But Latin American presidents may use the summit as the opportunity to try to talk Obama into doing more, experts said.

The ambassador said it's unclear whether Obama will use the forum to announce major Cuba policy changes. But he'll have to ''say something,'' she said.

''I know there will be conversations with respect to that subject,'' Morean-Phillip said.

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