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The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced this Wednesday that he will not attend the upcoming Summit of the Americas, scheduled for December in the Dominican Republic, in protest of the exclusion of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela from the hemispheric meeting.
“I will not attend the Summit of the Americas in the Dominican Republic. Dialogue does not begin with exclusions,” wrote the Colombian president on his official X account (formerly Twitter), accompanying the message with an extensive reflection on the direction of Latin America and the foreign policy of his government.
The president explained that he had proposed to the United States a joint meeting between the CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and Washington "to discuss the economic integration of a great America," but he never received a response.
“What we have today is an aggression in the Caribbean, which had been established as a zone of peace,” added Petro, apparently referring to the U.S. attack on a drug boat off the coast of Venezuela, which resulted in six deaths.
The American president, Donald Trump, confirmed the operation on Monday, stating that the target was a vessel linked to a terrorist organization involved in drug trafficking. This event has generated diplomatic tension in the region.
Petro emphasized that, instead of restricting itself to traditional spaces for inter-American dialogue, his government will promote a global cooperation agenda with countries from the South.
He highlighted that at the upcoming CELAC-European Union Summit, which will be held in November in Santa Marta, he will propose “a partnership based on knowledge, clean energy, and artificial intelligence with global public sovereignty over its regulation.”
The Colombian president also revealed progress in CELAC's relationships with other regions: “In the previously held CELAC-China meeting, an agreement was reached on the same terms. We have proposed meetings with the African Union and with the Middle East, and we could consider a CELAC-India.”
Petro insisted that Latin America "does not need to take sides in the commercial competitions of the great powers," but rather should focus on its own internal integration.
The path of Latin America is the most open and profound relationships with the world, without subordination, he stated.
The announcement from Petro comes two days after the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, communicated her decision to not attend the summit for the same reasons.
Personally, we never agree with excluding any country, declared the Mexican president, referring to the Dominican government's decision to leave Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela out.
Sheinbaum also explained that Mexico is experiencing a national emergency due to flooding, but clarified that her stance on exclusion is "principled."
Their absence, along with Petro's, marks a new distancing between the so-called progressive Latin American governments and Washington.
On September 30th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Dominican Republic announced that, despite initial commitments to inclusivity, it would not invite the three countries due to "reasons of political polarization."
According to a statement, the measure is based on a "strictly multilateral criterion" and aims to "ensure the success of the meeting."
The Dominican government clarified that its bilateral relations with Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela "have their own characteristics," although their exclusion aims to avoid diplomatic tensions during the summit.
The X Summit of the Americas, which will take place on December 4 and 5 in Punta Cana, will once again be held under the shadow of hemispheric division.
In 2022, the Los Angeles edition was also marked by the non-invitation of Havana, Managua, and Caracas, a decision that resulted in the absence of then Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
With the withdrawals of Petro and Sheinbaum, the forum loses two of the main leaders of the Latin American left, while the perception grows that the regional bloc is moving towards a more autonomous and multipolar agenda, clearly distancing itself from the foreign policy of the United States.
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