Santo Domingo.- The regional crisis involving three South American countries could dilute the impact of the agreements expected to be reached in the Rio Group Summit scheduled to begin today Tuesday in the Dominican capital.

The newspaper Clave Digital, quoting a source in the Foreign Relations Ministry said the five presidents have cancelled their participation in the conclave. No one in the Foreign Ministry would comment on the report.

The presidents Hugo Chávez, of Venezuela; Alvaro Uribe, of Colombia; Rafael Correa, of Ecuador; Evo Morales, of Bolivia, and Daniel Ortega, of Nicaragua, have suspended the trip to San Domingo, the news site said.

Clave said the source didn’t explain the chief executives’ reasons for canceling, although the measure points to the diplomatic crisis involving Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, after Colombian troops chased FARC guerillas across the border into Ecuador’s territory this weekend.