Petro Warns US Against Escalation in Caribbean, Cites Regional โUnity
Colombian President Gustavo Petro delivered a strong rebuke of recent U.S. militaryโ actions in the Caribbean and Pacific, warning against further intervention and advocating for strengthened regional cooperation. Speaking at the III Social Summit of the People of Latin America and the Caribbean inโข Santa marta,held alongside the IV CELAC-EU Summit,Petro responded to U.S. attacks on boats suspected of drug trafficking.
Petro cautioned the U.S., specifically referencing former Presidentโ Donald Trump and Senator Marco Rubio, against escalating tensions in the region. He invoked the โคphrase,”Don’t wake the โjaguar,” emphasizing the potential forโ a โstrong response should the U.S. continue to operate aggressively in the Caribbean. “Be careful, they are crossing the Caribbean of the liberators. They are โคmessing with Bolรญvar’s โhomeland,” he stated.
The President asserted that theโ recent U.S. operations, resulting in overโค 70 deaths, did not target drug traffickers, but rather “poorโ people,โค workers in an illicit trade that determines the world.” He called for a revival of the concept of Gran Colombia – a unified nation encompassing โterritoriesโ of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, andโ Panama – as a means to bolster regional power and address shared challenges. He proposed forming “committees โof the Constituent assembly” across these nations, operatingโข independently of โexisting โคpolitical structures.
Petro also accusedโข the U.S. government of attempting to โdissuade European and latin โขAmerican leaders from attending the โIV CELAC-EUโ Summit, โscheduled to take โplace in Santa Marta. He stressed theโ importance of dialog with theโ U.S., but insisted it must be conducted “one to one, between equals and without kneeling.”
Shifting to the ongoing โคconflict in Gaza, Petroโ reiterated his strongโ criticism ofโ Israel’s actions. He highlightedโข what he perceived as the isolation ofโค former President Trump โขand Israeli Prime Minister Benjaminโฃ Netanyahu at the recent United Nations General Assembly, attributing it to growing international support for Palestine. He further stated his belief that “democracy has died,” replaced โคby a โค”crisis of a productive system called capitalism,” โฃand warned that the violence unfolding in Gaza foreshadows potential future conflicts in other regions, specifically “the south.”