The United States is not a party to the EU-CELAC summit in Santa Marta, but its presence is looming larger than any of the attending nations. US military actions—two separate, controversial deployments—have become the de facto central topic of the two-day meeting, uniting Latin American leaders in criticism and sidelining all other discussions.
The first and most immediate crisis is an anti-drug operation in the Caribbean and Pacific that has killed over 60 people. The summit’s host, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, has led the condemnation, calling the deaths “extrajudicial executions” and confirming Colombian casualties. This has set a deeply contentious tone for the entire event.
The second crisis involves US President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against Venezuela. This issue is being championed by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is attending the summit specifically to show “regional solidarity with Venezuela.” His diplomats have confirmed this “will come up” in discussions, guaranteeing a two-pronged assault on US foreign policy.
According to policy expert Alexander Main, the US’s absence is precisely what makes this discussion possible. He noted that with the Summit of the Americas postponed, this is the last major regional meeting of the year, and the US not being in the room “could make it easier for governments to frankly address” the deployments.
This has left the European delegation, which is already weakened by the absence of its top leaders like Ursula von der Leyen, in an awkward position. The summit’s official agenda—the “Declaration of Santa Marta” on energy and technology—has been forgotten. The meeting has instead become a rare and unified forum for Latin American and Caribbean nations to confront and condemn the actions of their northern neighbor.
