The fifth Summit of the Americas has ended without satisfying results in Trinidad as participating leaders failed to sign a declaration.

The presidents of 34 countries canceled the collective signing ceremony after presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and some other countries refused to sign the final declaration on Sunday.

The presidents argued that the declaration was unacceptable for failing to address the world financial crisis and unfairly excluding Cuba from the gathering.

President Hugo Chavez said the declaration was not a product of unanimity at the event and Venezuela did not sign it.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning, as host of the summit, only signed the declaration on behalf of everyone.

In an article on Monday, former Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro criticized President Barack Obama for Washington's trade embargo against Havana following the summit.

"The cruel blockade against the Cuban people costs lives and results in human suffering," he wrote on Cubadebate website.

Castro's criticism came after the Summit of the Americas ended without decisions over nearly half-a-century-old US embargo on Cuba.

The United States imposed the Cold War trade ban against Cuba in 1962.

"Continued injustice or crime cannot be justified regardless of the era, in which it has occurred," Castro noted.

Before the gathering, President Raul Castro expressed Cuba's readiness to hold talks with the US about everything, including human rights, political prisoners and freedom of the press.

Meanwhile, the US president who admitted US policy toward Cuba "hasn't worked", urged political reforms for lifting the economic embargo.

"The issues of political prisoners, freedom of speech and democracy are important, and can't simply be brushed aside," Obama said on Sunday.

Former US president Bill Clinton organized the first Summit of the Americas -- an every five-year gathering -- in Miami in 1994.

AGB/DT