A small group of foreign ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) regional bloc met on Monday morning for a “profound reflection” on the United States’ ongoing efforts to combat drug cartels in Caribbean international waters.
CELAC is a 33-country regional bloc founded in Caracas in 2011 and largely promoted by late socialist dictator Hugo Chávez as a U.S.-free affiliation at the time of its creation. Presently, far-left Colombian President Gustavo Petro occupies CELAC’s rotating chairmanship. CELAC, which does not include the United States and Canada, has no executive or resolution capacity and the results of its meetings are simply “declarations.”
On Sunday, Colombian Foreign Ministry Yolanda Villavicencio called for an urgent Monday morning online meeting to “exchange views and reflections on the regional situation” after the United States deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers and other resources as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat drug cartels in Caribbean international waters.
“Member States hope that this space will allow for an open and constructive discussion of concerns surrounding recent military movements in the Caribbean and their possible implications for regional peace, security, and stability,” the Colombian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. “The intention is to strengthen channels of dialogue and cooperation, recognizing that transnational challenges require joint and coordinated responses.”
Over the past days, Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro and members of his authoritarian regime have repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the United States seeks to “invade” Venezuela and oust dictator Nicolás Maduro from power.
Maduro, who has clung to power by holding several sham elections over the past decade, stands accused by U.S. authorities of multiple narco-terrorism charges. He is long suspected of being a leading figure of the Cartel of the Suns, an international cocaine trafficking operation run by leading figures of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and by some top Venezuelan military officials.
In July, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced that the United States included the Cartel of the Suns in its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entities. Days later, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the United States doubled its bounty on information that can lead to Maduro’s arrest from $25 million to $50 million.
Foreign Minister Villavicencio, who hosted the virtual encounter, called upon CELAC to reject the U.S. military deployment, as well as “any possible military intervention in a CELAC member country.”
Hellbound and Down 