10th CELAC Summit: A Latin American Response to Global Crises

What can Latin America and the Caribbean teach the world about peace and regional cooperation?

On March 21, 2026, the 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) took place in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. In light of the outbreak of conflicts around the globe, the event aimed to reaffirm the commitments of participating governments regarding peace and regional integration – both internally, among CELAC's own members, and externally, between the Community and other countries, economic blocs, or regional organizations – as well as to highlight the sovereignty of Latin America and the Caribbean, position them prominently on the global agenda, and discuss solutions to adversities hindering the full development of the regions in question.

Founded in Mexico in 2010, CELAC is composed of all Latin American and Caribbean States and consists of an intergovernmental forum in which members develop cooperation and regional integration programs in areas such as education, nuclear disarmament, energy, and the environment, through dialogue and consensus and based on harmony between States' own interests and shared values. Beyond materializing solutions to contemporary problems through effective policies, the group aims to internationalize the interests of its members, so as to bring their needs to the attention of the rest of the world.

Geographic location of CELAC member countries.

In this scenario, CELAC held its 10th Summit on Saturday, March 21, 2026, during which the Declaration of Bogotá was approved. The document reiterates the position of member countries regarding the duties proposed by the United Nations Charter – which involve the maintenance of peace, the promotion of diplomatic relations among nations, the defense of international cooperation, and the protection of human rights – and proposes cooperative solutions for addressing adversities common to all members.

Comprising 35 terms, the manuscript introduces principles that describe Latin America and the Caribbean as a "Zone of Peace" and free from nuclear weapons, which reaffirms the pacifist position of the community and the defense of non-aggression. In this sense, it is worth highlighting that all actions described in the Declaration are carried out in accordance with the legal frameworks of the States and International Law, demonstrating CELAC's horizontal character and its commitment to the jurisdictions of all its members.

The Declaration of Bogotá expresses consensual support for the self-determination of Latin American and Caribbean peoples, based on respect for national sovereignties and the principle of equality among them. The document reveals this position, among other ways, by proposing that the position of Secretary-General of the United Nations be held by a representative from one of CELAC's member countries, justifying that this occurrence would represent the UN's respect for multilateralism with regard to a "more equitable representation of all regions of the world." In this manner, the document insists on the commitment to build interstate relations based on effective cooperation that generates mutual benefits.

Emphasis is placed on the necessity for cooperation in terms of migration, in order to make the phenomenon into a regular, safe, and orderly movement of people, based on the understanding of each nation's competencies and respect for human rights. It also addresses the fight against transnational criminal organizations, under the understanding that their expansion translates into the stimulation of violence and the consequent maintenance of the state of underdevelopment in the countries where this phenomenon persists.

In the climate sphere, measures are presented aimed at preventing the advancement of the imminent crisis. The effects of the collapse, which range from the increase in general temperature to the retraction of socioeconomic growth, particularly affect small developing island states, and therefore must be combated in unity and solidarity, aiming at collective well-being and the homogeneous evolution of the states in question. The document also upholds "the willingness of countries in the region to advance in the process of regional energy integration," with the primary objective of promoting an energy transition based on the development of renewable sources and the expansion of related infrastructure, as well as ensuring the effective implementation of climate commitments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Finally, and in a less explicit manner, the document also addressed the importance of fully promoting higher education – understood as a "tool for the development of human capital" – and the commitment to ensure the implementation of CELAC's Health Self-Sufficiency Plan as a strategic pillar for strengthening local capacities, promoting the production and distribution of health inputs and technologies, the transfer of knowledge, and the stimulation of technological innovation.

In view of the growing occurrence of armed conflicts, CELAC and its initiatives – such as the summit in question – reveal the global necessity for organizations and interstate groups that seek international cooperation, the protection of rights, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts, instrumentalizing dialogue and diplomacy as means of overcoming persistent contemporary obstacles.

In this context, Brazil has participated in all high-level meetings of the community, which includes the conferences of Buenos Aires (2023), Kingstown (2024), and Tegucigalpa (2025), the two CELAC-EU Summits in Brussels and Santa Marta (2023 and 2025), and the CELAC-China Forum in Beijing (2025), which demonstrates the alignment of the Brazilian government with the regional integration agenda and with the construction of an autonomous political space for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The speech of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, delivered by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, placed emphasis on the issue of Brazilian rare minerals. Lula highlights that critical minerals are strategic for Brazil and that the country needs better organization to capitalize on this potential. He defends more coordinated government action and attention to external pressures, reinforcing the importance of protecting these resources as part of national sovereignty. At the same time, he acknowledges that Brazil still needs to advance in order to transform its wealth into greater international prominence.

Another impactful moment of the meeting was the speech by Cuba's Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, who used the space to openly denounce the economic and military pressures exercised by the United States against his country. With a speech filled with historical and political tone, the foreign minister reiterated Cuba's position of resistance and questioned what he called "neocolonial domination." According to the representative, the country faces a blockade that would have been aggravated to extreme levels; as a recent example of this intensification, he mentions the Executive Order of the President of the United States of January 29, and the implementation of a severe energy blockade, whose effects would bring serious humanitarian implications for the Cuban population.

The minister emphasized that despite decades of economic warfare waged by Washington, Cuba has resisted through the unity of its people, investment in photovoltaic energy, and its own program of economic transformation. Rodríguez Parrilla also harshly criticized the most recent military threats from the US, stating that "the United States declares publicly almost daily its intentions to militarily attack Cuba or to achieve, through coercion, the overthrow of the Cuban government." For the Cuban minister, such a posture represents not only a threat to Cuba, but to the entire region, and could only be countered with the unity of Latin American and Caribbean peoples.

In conclusion, the minister called on the countries present to defend CELAC as an alternative to "elitist agendas subordinated to external interests of neocolonial domination," and reaffirmed that Cuba would not renounce the implementation of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, one of the group's most symbolic achievements.

"The countries [...] reiterate the need to put an end to the economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed against Cuba"

Term 7 of the Declaration of Bogotá, 2026.

The summit also included a message from Chinese President Xi Jinping, sent to the leaders participating in the summit in Bogotá. In the statement, he highlighted China's commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean, reinforcing that Beijing will always be "a good friend and partner of the countries in the region," willing to support them in the defense of their sovereignty, security, and development.

The Chinese leader also made reference to the advances of the China-CELAC Forum, whose fourth ministerial meeting was held in Beijing in May 2025. On that occasion, China and Latin American countries jointly launched five cooperation programs in the areas of solidarity, development, civilization, peace, and connectivity among peoples. According to Xi Jinping, the joint work over the past year has resulted in concrete benefits for the populations on both sides. The message also highlighted Beijing's willingness to work with the region to defend international justice and equity, with a view to building a community with a shared future.

Furthermore, the 10th CELAC Summit took place at a moment of clear geopolitical dispute over the alignment of Latin American countries. Just days before, on March 7, 2026, US President Donald Trump had launched the so-called "Shield of the Americas": a military coalition composed of 17 countries aimed at combating drug trafficking, cartels, and illegal immigration, as well as containing the influence of China and Russia in the hemisphere. The conference was organized in Doral, Florida, and brought together 12 conservative leaders from the region, including representatives from Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Paraguay. While CELAC brings together all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean – thus excluding the participation of the United States and Canada – and operates on the basis of consensus, the principle of non-intervention, and respect for State sovereignty, the Shield of the Americas was structured around US leadership and contains clauses that, according to analysts, open loopholes for direct military interventions in the territories of signatory countries.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made clear that partnership with Washington requires "reciprocity," that is, in order to have access to the US market and protection, countries must limit their rapprochement with China and adopt the list of adversaries defined by Washington. Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia did not participate in the Shield of the Americas, representing the resistance of the Latin American left to the attempt at US hegemony.

As previously expressed, the Declaration of Bogotá presents terms (specifically points 16 and 18) on combating the expansion of transnational criminal organizations, an action possibly comparable to the objectives of the Shield of the Americas. Nevertheless, it is noted that CELAC portrays illicit activities as a direct threat "to citizen security, public health, democratic stability, regional peace, and socioeconomic development." The disparity between this document and the US initiative, from this perspective, is reflected in the fact that the Shield is an instrument of coercion aimed at pursuing its own interests and achieving hegemony, while the Declaration describes cooperative acts that benefit all participants in a democratic manner.

In this regard, the Cuban foreign minister criticized, in his speech in Bogotá, the US arrangement, stating that CELAC has a duty to protect its members and the United Nations against "ideological and dictatorial constructions" – such as the Shield, seen by him as a way to subordinate other States to North American aspirations.

The contrast between the two projects shows a tension that on one side is composed of the US attempt to reaffirm its hegemony in the Western Hemisphere through military alliances with ideologically aligned countries – what some analysts already call the "Donroe Doctrine," in allusion to the old Monroe Doctrine of 1823. On the other side, is presented CELAC's bet on a model of integration based on dialogue, political diversity, and regional autonomy. In a context of increasing bipolarity, the Declaration of Bogotá reiterated that a significant part of Latin America remains committed to the most fully democratic path.

Mariana Canuto e Maria Clara Gueiros.