The 4th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) took place in Santa Marta, Colombia, from November 9 to 11. On November 9, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro sent a letter to both parties appealing for Latin American unity and peace.
In his official letter on the 9th, President Maduro urged the nations to “firmly confront the military threats and imperialist intervention of the United States.” He quoted Simón Bolívar’s final testament, “all must work for the invaluable blessing of union,” stating that “The union of Latin America is not a rhetorical gesture, but the condition of our liberty and key to our dignity.”
Regarding recent US military (cooperation>)threat in the Caribbean, he called it a “21st-century imperialist encirclement.” He further warned: “Aircraft carriers and missile destroyers have resulted in the sacrifice of civilians, which the UN has categorized as extrajudicial executions,” adding, “Intervention under the pretext of ‘security’ and the ‘fight against narcotrafficking’ is a revival of the Monroe Doctrine. Venezuela will never accept interference in any form.”
He praised CELAC, founded in Caracas in 2011, as “the product of integration without external forces,” and called for unity through an end to the militarization of the Caribbean and a declaration of a zone of peace.
He continued by appealing that the summit should be a platform for practical action rather than mere formality, and urged the declaration of the Americas as a “Zone of Peace.”
Additionally, he condemned the US blockade policy against Cuba as a “criminal and inhuman act,” and denounced the EU sanctions on Venezuela as “illegal measures that violate the fundamental rights of our people.”
At the conclusion of the letter, he quoted Simón Bolívar, “Peace is my harbor, my glory, and my hope,” and reiterated his emphasis on Latin American unity and the defense of sovereignty, saying, “our people will triumph again for a peace built upon equality and sovereignty.”
Meanwhile, the summit involved 33 CELAC member states and 27 EU member states. They discussed key agenda items, including Democracy, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law, International and Regional Security, Multilateralism, Diplomatic Conflict Resolution, Food, Technical Cooperation, and Infrastructure Investment, and subsequently issued a Joint Declaration.
The declaration proclaimed a common objective to further strengthen the historic ties between the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean and the EU, at a time when multilateralism is facing challenges worldwide.
