Colombian President: Latin America Needs Unity Not Missiles

JAKARTA - Colombian President Gustavo Petro insists Latin America does not need missiles, but unity, while criticizing military intervention in the region and calling for regional integration.

Petro conveyed this at the opening of the Latin American and Caribbean International Economic Forum organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Development Bank (CAF) in Panama.

Without directly mentioning the United States, Petro referred to the US attack on Venezuela earlier this month.

He also said Colombia did not want Venezuela or any other country in the Americas "to be the target of missiles, either from the north or from the south."

"Our nations have shaped history in such a way that we must begin to see ourselves as a Latin American and Caribbean civilization - diverse, very different, but interconnected," Petro said, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Thursday, January 29.

Highlighting international challenges, Petro assessed that the only way to face global threats such as drug trafficking, the climate crisis, and the increasing conflict is through regional integration.

He stressed that Latin America's true strength does not come from missiles or money.

"True wealth is in life, nature, cultural diversity, and the effort to offer the world a peaceful alternative to war," Petro said.

"Will we agree to be divided and isolated, or build a true unity?" he said, adding.

The forum was also attended by the presidents of Brazil, Panama, Bolivia, Jamaica, Ecuador, and Guatemala, as well as the president-elect of Chile, Jose Antonio Kast.