Emergency Summit Begins in Bogotá in Defense of Latin American Sovereignty

The Palacio de San Carlos, headquarters of Colombia's Foreign Ministry, is the meeting point for more than 100 global leaders at the emergency summit "Our America," which seeks to discuss and articulate a defense plan for the sovereignty of the Latin American region.

The gathering, convened by the Progressive International organization, brings together ministers, parliamentarians, and representatives of Latin American social movements this weekend to establish mechanisms of cooperation and solidarity among governments in the face of the growing interventionist escalation by the United States in the countries of Central and South America.

The summit is an opportunity to "begin to outline a more representative, inclusive, and fair international order of resistance that places human beings and their dignity at the center," stated Colombian Foreign Minister Yolanda Villavicencio during the summit's opening.

The official recalled that on Friday, the United States Army attacked an alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, an operation that left two dead and is part of the anti-narcotics operation called "Operation Southern Spear."

"The attack carried out under the justification or pretext of the fight against drug trafficking resulted in an extrajudicial execution of at least two people (...) They join more than 120 people murdered in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean since September 3 of last year," she noted.

The foreign minister denounced that this event is part of the "unilateral measures, interference in sovereignty, pressure on our judicial systems, and ambition over our natural resources" that the United States has exercised "in the last 12 months, but also in the last two centuries in which our Latin America has been a victim."

For his part, the general coordinator of the Progressive International, David Adler, highlighted that "Our America" convenes all social forces of the hemisphere to defend not only Colombia's sovereignty, but "the self-determination of all peoples," through the renewal of ideas from different leaderships.

"The message is that in the face of the tyranny of foreign coercion, we are going to unite forces and form a new front to seek the unity of the peoples of Latin America and protect the sacred principle of self-determination that today faces an existential threat," he indicated in an interview with Xinhua.

The leader announced that the organization will support President Gustavo Petro in his upcoming visit to Washington, where he will meet with his US counterpart, Donald Trump.

"It could be a historic step to reestablish a relationship not based on an exercise of domination from the north but on mutual understanding and respect for Colombia's sovereignty, and that's why we're here, to strengthen and support the president before the visit so we can generate better conditions," he said.

In the same vein, Colombian Senator María José Pizarro, a special guest at the summit, told Xinhua that they celebrate that diplomatic channels are open to "mitigate existing tensions."

"As long as we still have the aircraft carrier nearby and as long as President Petro is still on the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) list, we don't feel fully at ease with this visit," she said.

"Of course, this will also be a space to discuss the different concerns we have in relation to the President of the Republic of Colombia and the sovereignty of our country and our continent," she added.

The summit will conclude on Sunday with a joint declaration from those present, including the organizer of the Global Sumud Flotilla from Brazil, Thiago Ávila; the Vice President of France's National Assembly, Clémence Guetté; Spanish Deputy Gerardo Pisarello; and Uruguayan Senator Bettiana Díaz, among others.