Venezuela celebrated the Declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace this Thursday and reiterated that “dialogue and reason” are “the most powerful tools against military force,” 12 years after the proclamation reached in Havana, Cuba, in 2014, with the consensus of the 33 member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

CELAC Prepares for 11th Anniversary of Zone of Peace in the Face of US Aggression

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil emphasized that peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but rather the full exercise of sovereignty. “It is not the Roman peace of domination or submission. That is not the peace to which the Latin American community refers. It is a peace with sovereignty, with the full exercise of freedom and the will to develop,” he stressed.

For his part, the executive secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), Rander Peña, highlighted the difference in peace for the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. “For the powerful nations, peace means order and submission. For us, it means social justice and respect for the right to decide our own political model without fear.”

During the meeting, which was attended by 606 delegates from 38 countries, including social movements, political parties, and authorities from the region and the world, participants condemned the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, First Lady and Congresswoman Cilia Flores.

In this regard, Congressman Nicolás Maduro Guerra highlighted the “cohesive civic-military fusion” of the Bolivarian Revolution. “We have guaranteed a strong state,” he emphasized, and announced that the Meeting of Jurists in Defense of International Law against External Aggression will be held in February, with national and international guests.

At the meeting, Venezuela reaffirmed that Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace will continue to be the foundation of its foreign policy.

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