In a panic over the United States arresting Nicolás Maduro this weekend, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called an emergency meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Sunday, with the support of Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.
For those who don’t know, CELAC is an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS) that includes 33 countries from the Caribbean and Latin America. Unlike OAS, it excludes the United States and Canada, citing a desire for regional autonomy.
Petro, Lula, and Sheinbaum had the idea that they were going to issue a CELAC communiqué that condemned the Donald Trump administration’s actions and demand that the U.S. release Maduro immediately. The document carries on about peace and so forth, including how they want to maintain the peace of the region, which is rich coming from the narco-president of Mexico and the former M-19 guerilla of Colombia, but I digress.
Uruguay signed on to it, as did Chile’s outgoing leftist president — don’t worry, that country just elected a conservative who will take office soon — and Spain also threw its support behind it. For what it’s worth, Spain is not an actual member of CELAC, just a “partner” that serves as a “bridge” between the region and Europe.
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But here’s the thing: In order for CELAC to pass a communiqué, typically, members must vote unanimously.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei said not so fast, comrades. As I reported on Friday, Milei is in the midst of trying to put together a former bloc of Latin American and Caribbean countries who are pro-free markets and all the good things he cares about, and while nothing is formal yet, he says he has 10 countries, including Argentina, ready to join. The region is changing, and this is a way to amplify that and, with any lucky, send other countries to the political right as well.
Well, 10 countries just happened to block the three mouthy amigos (or two amigos and one amiga) from making their big public joint statement condemning the United States. It’s not clear if they are the same 10 countries that are part of Milei’s new bloc, but it seems highly likely. And if my sources are correct, they are: Argentina, Paraguay, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the end, the meeting was a waste, and Milei blocked Petro, Sheinbaum, and Lula’s socialist, anti-U.S. agenda. It also exposed just how much the region is changing and how fractured it is at the moment.
Since the operation that led to us capturing and arresting Maduro, Milei has been one of the most vocal supporters of President Trump’s actions and vows that Argentina will help with Venezuela’s transition to democracy.
He posted the following on X on Saturday (translated from Spanish):
PRINCIPLE OF REVELATION
On historic days like today, we can truly see what some leaders and opinion makers are made of.
On one side is democracy, the defense of life, freedom, and property. Those values that many claim to defend but only uphold when it suits them.
On the other side are those accomplices of a narco-terrorist and bloody dictatorship that has been a cancer for our region, sowing the disease of 21st Century Socialism, with its consequent misery and death.
Here there are no half-measures or grays. You are either on the side of GOOD, or on the side of EVIL. And all those who today do not defend the cause of freedom tooth and nail are part of the problem and not the solution.
We celebrate the fall of the narco-terrorist dictator Maduro. Argentina is ready to help in the transition to a free, democratic, and prosperous Venezuela.
LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMN IT…!!!
All of these countries also happen to be some of our best allies, or, at the very least, are U.S.-friendly and will most likely become a lot more U.S.-friendly in 2026 due to changing governments and Milei leading them into a new era.
2026 is set to be an exciting year for the United States and our allies in the Western Hemisphere. At PJ Media, we’ll cover it every step of the way and without the anti-Trump bias you’ll get from the MSM — but we can only do it with your help.
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