Originally due to take place in December, the gathering has been delayed until next year after consultations with countries that had been invited to attend, including the US, the Dominican foreign ministry said in a statement.

Many countries in the Americas are furious over the US deployment off Venezuela’s coast. It has included attacks on what Washington calls drug-smuggling boats, amid fears of a direct US intervention against leftist President Nicolas Maduro.

The Dominican statement said “deep differences make it hard to hold a productive summit in the Americas now.”

It also cited damage that Hurricane Melissa caused to some countries due to attend the summit, such as Jamaica.

The US says the deployment off Venezuela is an anti-narcotics operation.

The attacks by US forces on the boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific have killed at least 65 people.

Experts say the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.

Washington has yet to make public any evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the US.