Statement for the Peace and Stability of Our Continent

Our continent achieved a historic triumph when the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) declared the region a ‘Zone of Peace’ one decade ago. This declaration represented the collective will of our peoples: to resolve our differences through dialogue and cooperation, not through violence and intervention.

Today, that triumph is under threat. The Trump administration is escalating a dangerous military buildup off the coast of Venezuela, deploying naval forces in the Caribbean in preparation for a potential armed intervention.

The pretext is familiar. President Trump justifies US intervention in Venezuela as a means to combat “cartels”, celebrating lethal strikes against fishermen accused of carrying drugs. We have already lived through this catastrophe. In Colombia, in Mexico, and throughout our region, the first US “War on Drugs” brought only bloodshed, dispossession, and destabilization.

Now, the Trump administration is planning to lead a new “War on Drugs”. That war may start with regime change in Venezuela, but we know that it will not end there. Already, the US is threatening illegal drone strikes on Mexican soil in the name of its ‘national security.’ If we do not stand for peace now, we risk a new wave of armed interventions across the region, unleashing a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable scale in all of our home countries.

We have lived this nightmare before. US military interventions of the 20th century brought dictatorships, disappearances, and decades of trauma to our nations. We know the terrible cost of allowing foreign powers to wage war on our continent. We cannot—we will not—allow history to repeat itself.

Only the unity of all organized political forces across Latin America and the Caribbean is powerful enough to prevent this catastrophe. Across our political contexts, we share a common cause: the sovereignty of our nations and the security of our peoples. We must stand together now.

The Zone of Peace is ours to defend. The future of our continent depends on our unity in this moment.

Adolfo Mendoza Leigue — Bolivia
Aida Avella Esquivel — Colombia
Aida García Naranjo — Peru
Adriana Bustamante Castellanos — Mexico
Adriana Salvatierra — Bolivia
Alicia Castro — Argentina
Atilio A. Borón — Argentina
Beatriz Andrea Navarro Pérez — Mexico
Camila Lagos — Chile
Carmen Diniz — Brazil
Carol Proner — Brazil
Cecilia Nicolini — Argentina
Clara López Obregón — Colombia
Claudia Mix — Chile
Coca Nanco — Chile
Eduardo Valdés — Argentina
Eduardo Zanattta — Brazil
Eli Gómez Alcorta — Argentina
Elvira Concheiro Bórquez — Mexico
Emilio Uzcátegui — Ecuador
Estefanía Prado González — Bolivia
Erika Ortega Sanoja — Venezuela
Félix Salgado Casiani — Colombia
Fernanda Melchor — Brazil
Fernando Enrique Cedeño Rivadeneira — Ecuador
Fernando Yépez Lasso — Ecuador
Galo Chiriboga Zambrano — Ecuador
Gabriela Montaño — Bolivia
Gabriela Rivadeneira Burbano — Ecuador
Glauber Braga — Brazil
Gloria Flórez Schneider — Colombia
Guillame Long — Ecuador
Heriberto López Blanch — Cuba
Horacio Sevilla Borja — Ecuador
Humberto Costa — Brazil
Iván Cepeda — Colombia
Iván Valente — Brazil
José Miguel Ahumada — Chile
Juliano Medeiros — Brazil
Lorena Peña — El Salvador
Luciene Cavalcante — Brazil
Luiza Erundina de Sousa — Brazil
Manuela D'Avila — Brazil
María Fernanda Carrascal Rojas — Colombia
María José Pizarro — Colombia
Mariela Castro Espín — Cuba
Martha Pérez — Dominican Republic
Mateo Grille — Uruguay
Matías Capozzo — Argentina
Michael Heslop — Jamaica
Misaara Cristina Oliveira — Brazil
Mónica Valente — Brazil
Nánki Lauro Saarti Juank — Ecuador
Norma Goicoechea Estirnoz — Cuba
Otto Leonel Monterrey García — Cuba
Patricia Mora Castellanos — Costa Rica
Paulo César Lemos de Oliveira — Brazil
Paulo Pimenta — Brazil
Pedro Uszai — Brazil
Peter Lansiquot — Saint Lucia
Rafael Correa Delgado — Ecuador
Rafael Muñoz Gómez — Mexico
Ramón Enrique Barrios — Honduras
Renata Lemos Avelar Flores — Mexico
Ricardo Patiño Aroca — Ecuador
Ricardo Ulcuango Farinango — Ecuador
Rocio Arias — Ecuador
Sacha Sergio Llorenti — Bolivia
Sâmia Bomfim — Brazil
Seiskou Sylvestre — Grenada
Simón Gómez Aiza — Colombia
Sonia Marina Gutiérrez Raguay — Guatemala
Soraya Elena Álvarez Núñez — Cuba
Tamara Lajtman — Brazil
Tarcisio Motta — Brazil
Trevor G Brown — Jamaica
Vanessa Ramos — Puerto Rico
Verónika Mendoza — Peru
Virgilio Hernández — Ecuador