GUADALAJARA, Mexico - A meeting here of diplomats from Latin America and Europe became another opportunity Thursday for the international condemnation of the U.S. presence in Iraq and the prison-abuse scandal there.

Foreign ministers from 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as 25 European nations, meeting here this week, denounced the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and delivered a veiled criticism of the United States for its refusal to cooperate with the United Nations.

In a declaration to be issued today, officials attending the Third Summit of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union condemned unilateral actions that go against international law and outlined "our horror at the recent evidence of mistreatment of the prisoners in Iraqi prisons."

"We energetically condemn all forms of abuse, torture and other cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment against people, including prisoners of war, in whatever location they occur," the draft reads. "We express our horror at the recent evidence of the mistreatment of the prisoners in the Iraqi prisons. These abuses go against international law, including the Geneva Conventions."

Late Thursday, the European Union and Latin America were still at odds over whether to name the United States and the so-called Helms-Burton law, part of a package of sanctions against Cuba, in what has become known as "Paragraph 73" of the 106-part draft.

Latin American countries want to mention the law, which punishes foreign companies that profit from confiscated U.S. properties in Cuba, with a statement exhorting "the government of the United States to put an end to its application."

• FAA: Be alert at airports
• GI in Lynch's unit was captured, executed, military says
• East Valley exec accused of ripping off investors for $22 million
• Detroit house searched for clues into Hoffa case
• Pope worries about 'soulless' life in America
• 617 prisoners released from Abu Ghraib prison
• 2 men arrested in grisly slayings of 3 children
• Families of 9/11 victims to hear phone calls from planes
• Strong quake kills at least 23 in Iran
• West Nile strikes 2 in Valley
• Death toll tops 1,000 in Caribbean flooding
• Chilean court strips Pinochet of immunity from prosecution
• Former POW returns to Vietnam to bring fallen comrades home
• Many Americans in denial about weight, poll shows
• Peterson jurors have no qualms about death penalty
• Child noticed alive after pronounced dead