The regional summit next month in Peru is seen as the leading forum for projecting U.S. leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean.
US presidents have participated in all seven previous gatherings, but with Trump's anti-immigrant statements, proposal to build a wall on the Mexican border and stance on trade stirring anger throughout the region, many wondered if he would attend.
"There will be some very uncomfortable meetings there," said Christopher Sabatini, a lecturer in international relations at Columbia University.
In recent years, US leaders have faced sharp rebukes from leftist Latin Americans at the periodic gathering and this year's event is likely to be no different.
Also Read
But the upcoming summit is also generating controversy because of a leader at the other end of the political spectrum: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
But Maduro recently said he is determined to attend, "rain, shine or lightning." "By air, land or sea - I will get to the Summit of the Americas to tell the truth of this country," he vowed at a news conference for international journalists.
Mercedes Araoz, the chief of Peru's Cabinet of Ministers, later quipped back that Maduro cannot come by "land nor Peruvian airspace because he is not welcome."
Peru and the United States have emerged as two of the most outspoken nations in voicing their objections to Maduro's rule as Venezuela struggles with hyperinflation, food and medical shortages, and a growing exodus of its citizens fleeing to other parts of the region.
"There's a real risk of a very undiplomatic showdown that could occur," Sabatini said of the ongoing squabble with Maduro. "He's already been disinvited. It would be strange, odd to have him re-invited. And if he should just show up, can Peru deny him entry?"
Former US President Bill Clinton first invited all hemispheric leaders except Cuba's Fidel Castro to gather in Miami in 1994 to promote a free trade zone ranging from Alaska to the tip of South America.
Protesters led by soccer legend Diego Maradona burned an effigy of President George W. Bush to protest the US-led invasion of Iraq at the 2005 summit in Argentina. Four years later, the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez famously gave then President Barack Obama a copy of a classic leftist book, "The Open Veins of Latin America," detailing the history of U.S. military interventions in the region.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content