BOGOTA: Representatives of European, Latin American and Caribbean nations will meet Sunday in Colombia to try to strengthen ties amid divisions in the Western Hemisphere over the US military operation targeting alleged drug-carrying vessels.
But the relevance of the two-day summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the European Union has come into question, because of the absence of heads of state and senior officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry has attributed the issue to scheduling conflicts with a United Nations climate summit and has sought to downplay concerns by highlighting the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Colombian officials have indicated that they will seek the signing of the Declaration of Santa Marta — the city hosting the meeting — on renewable energy, food security, financing and technological cooperation. Yet the deadly US military operation will likely become a key point of discussion as the host nation’s leader, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, is among its strongest critics.
The US strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific have killed more than 60 people since September. Petro has called the deaths “extrajudicial executions” and has identified at least one of the killed as a Colombian citizen. One of two known survivors of the attacks is also Colombian.
“It is clearly a priority for several regional leaders,” said Alexander Main, international policy director at the Center for Economic and Policy Research think tank.
Main said that with the postponement of this year’s Summit of the Americas, the gathering in Colombia is the last high-level multilateral summit to be held in the region this year. This could make it easier for governments to frankly address the central issue of military deployment, given that the United States isn’t a party to the summit.
Lula surprised observers Wednesday by announcing that he would attend the summit in Colombia, because Brazil is the host of the COP30 climate conference. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told reporters that Lula’s decision to attend the summit in Colombia reflects regional solidarity with Venezuela.
Brazilian Ambassador Gisela Padovan, secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, said Thursday that addressing US President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against Venezuela and recent boat strikes in the Caribbean would be a natural topic at the summit.
“It’s clear that the topic will come up, because the Venezuelan delegation will bring it up,” Padovan said. However, she didn’t tell reporters whether the gathering’s final statement would include the issue.
Lula has urged Latin American nations to help prevent conflict in Venezuela. On Tuesday, he told reporters that he had also urged Trump during their meeting last month in Malaysia to follow the example of former US President George W. Bush, who participated in efforts to pacify Venezuela following a 2002 coup attempt against then President Hugo Chávez.
“I told Trump that Latin America is a region of peace,” Lula said.
Summit of EU, Latin America and Caribbean nations aims to strengthen ties amid US military operation
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Summit of EU, Latin America and Caribbean nations aims to strengthen ties amid US military operation
- Summit will discuss US threats of military action against Venezuela and recent boat strikes in the Caribbean
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
