CARACAS, November 10. /TASS/. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called for the protection of the zone of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the his message to the participants of the IV Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU), which is taking place in the Colombian city of Santa Marta.
"The countries of the Caribbean and Latin America call for making this summit not a ritual event, but an act of determination: let us proclaim the unconditional protection of our America as a zone of peace and categorically reject any militarization of the Caribbean," Maduro wrote in the message, published on the Telegram channel of Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil Pinto.
Maduro condemned the deployment of US naval and air forces in the Caribbean Sea and strikes on ships and speedboats and firmly rejected the criminal blockade of Cuba, assessing it as a constant aggression that grossly violates international law and the UN Charter, as well as the inclusion of Cuba "in the false list of countries allegedly supporting terrorism." In addition, Maduro pointed to the "unilateral measures imposed by the European Union, which under the guise of individual sanctions ultimately violate the fundamental rights of peoples and hinder their development."
The Santa Marta summit in Colombia convenes following Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s UN General Assembly remarks that triggered a confrontation with US President Donald Trump, leading to harsh sanctions and US accusations of the country being a narco-state. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, declined to attend, reportedly to avoid irritating Trump, leaving the EU represented by European Council President Antonio Costa and foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. The summit’s dynamics are further strained by a US military buildup in the southern Caribbean to 16,000 troops, supposedly anti-drug strikes on vessels and threats of an invasion of Venezuela.