All that is gone and ALBA is but a shell,” Burelli said. Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba have all been hit with U.S. economic sanctions and are viewed by Washington as repressive regimes.

Venezuela and Cuba this week released political prisoners, including a free speech advocate, but analysts say the threat of legal action in authoritarian countries stifles media freedom.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday lashed out at authoritarian left-wing regimes in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, accusing them of being "enemies of humanity" and of causing a regional ...