Above photo: Presidents and heads of state of the CELAC countries in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jan. 24, 2023. Twitter/ @centralpolitcs.
The Latin American leaders demanded the end of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and Venezuela.
On Tuesday, 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) signed the “Buenos Aires Declaration,” through which they pledged to deepen integration, climate action, democratic institutions, and multilateralism.
The 111-point agreement highlights the importance of consolidating Latin America as a zone of peace, advancing food security, and deepening cooperation in health.
At the close of the event, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, highlighted the efforts that Argentina and Mexico made to consolidate CELAC in 2022.
“We will work for peace, social justice, prosperity, and security for all,” he said upon receiving the CELAC pro tempore presidency.
The Buenos Aires Declaration also points out the progress achieved in the CELAC’s political dialogue with extra-regional partners, including the European Union, China, India, the African Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The tweet reads, “Protesters shout ‘Dina murderess, the people disown you.’ They reject the repression carried out by the Peruvian regime, demonstrating in Buenos Aires, the city where the 7th CELAC Summit is being held with the presence of the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi.”
The 7th CELAC Summit also ended with unanimous applause in the presence of President Lula da Silva, who brought Brazil back to that regional forum three weeks after assuming the presidency of his country.
Besides demanding the end of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and Venezuela, the CELAC countries expressed their support for the dialogue between the Venezuelan government led by President Nicolas Maduro and the political opposition.
Finally, the Buenos Aires declaration also endorsed Argentina’s legitimate rights to the Falkland Islands, which are currently occupied by the United Kingdom.