European, Latin American and Caribbean countries meet this Sunday (7) in Colombia in an attempt to strengthen ties, precisely when opinions on United States military actions are divided.
At the European Union summit, Colombia has already announced that it will seek the signature of the declaration of Santa Marta – the city where the meeting takes place – on renewable energy, food security, financing and technological cooperation, which will end on Monday (10).
Part of the conversation leading up to the summit had to do with the absences of heads of state and high-level figures such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that there were scheduling problems, given that the event takes place in Brazil, and highlighted the presence of other presidents such as Brazil’s Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spain’s Pedro Sánchez.
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The director of International Policy at the Center for Economic and Political Research (CEPR), Alexander Main, said it was unlikely that there would be “significant concrete results” given the absence of many heads of state. However, Main considers that the presence of leaders who are very politically aligned can provide space for debates on topics that, otherwise, could be considered too divisive.
“The unprecedented US military deployment in the Caribbean and lethal naval strikes will be a topic of debate, although many European leaders prefer to ignore it to avoid heightening tensions with the United States,” he told Associated Press. “It is evident that it is a priority for several regional leaders” such as Lula and President Gustavo Petro, he added.
Main highlighted that with the postponement of this year’s Summit of the Americas, CELAC-EU will be the only high-level multilateral summit taking place in the region for the remainder of the year, which could make it easier for governments to candidly address the main issue of military deployment, given that the United States is not participating.
Professor and researcher of International Relations at the Externado University of Colombia, David Castrillón Kerrigan, stated, on the other hand, “bringing sensitive issues related to the United States to the table would make the summit a failure” and that Colombia “has a responsibility to CELAC and the region to make this a successful event.”
The event takes place amid open tension between the country and Donald Trump’s government, following several disagreements over anti-immigration and drug policy, the most recent of which was due to sanctions imposed on President Gustavo Pedro and his family by the US Treasury Department after accusing him, without evidence, of alleged links to drug trafficking. Added to this is Petro’s criticism of the lethal attacks on small vessels that the United States accused of transporting drug shipments and their crews of drug traffickers. Petro considered it disproportionate and classified it as “murders” and “extrajudicial executions”.
