In effort to counter speculation that he is trying to distance himself away from the Latino community, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz will hold a Q&A with U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce later this month.

The Texas Senator became the first candidate to officially launched a 2016 campaign when he declared his candidacy for the GOP nomination at the Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, on March 23, reports Politico. However, he has been criticized for failing to attend the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce late last month.

"Ted Cruz chose not to come," said USHCC president and CEO Javier Palomarez, who appeared to be visibly upset, according to Fox News Latino.

Palomarez added that he hopes that Cruz's absence from the annual meeting is not a sign that he is "backing away from the Hispanic community."

"If you're trying to get to the White House without openly trying to engage the Hispanic community, you're not going to get there," Palomarez said.

On Friday, it was reported that Cruz will meet with Palomarez on April 29 for a Q&A session in Washington, D.C., in front of an audience of business leaders and journalists.

"The Hispanic Chamber is an important constituency," said Rick Tyler, the national spokesman for the Cruz campaign, reports Fox News Latino. "We're going to have a conversation, the host and the senator. They will talk about jobs, economic growth, national security [and other] top issues on their agenda, and the interests of the [chamber's] members."

Palomarez said Cruz reached out to the chamber following his criticism of the senator.

"Several entities within Ted Cruz's [camp] reached out to us, they said they wanted to work with us," Palomarez said. "We proposed a public platform.

"It was not combative," he said. "They were pleasant and easy to work with."

Palomarez added it is a smart move for Cruz to engage Hispanics early on in his campaign.

"Never before has the Hispanic electorate played such an important role, and never again will a president be elected without Hispanic votes," Palomarez said.