Honduras canceled the Celac Summit for disagreements about the deportations of migrants from the US

The government of Honduras canceled on Tuesday the Extraordinary Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)scheduled for Thursday, after the lack of consensus among member countries on issues such as migration, environment and regional unit.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations of Honduras confirmed in a statement the suspension of the meeting, in which the face -to -face participation of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.

“Honduras, in the exercise of the Pro Tempore Presidency of the CELAC, cancels the extraordinary meeting of heads of state and government,” said the Foreign Ministry.

The summit, which would be carried out in a hybrid format, aimed to address the Migratory crisis and advance in the construction of joint strategies. According to the Honduran president Xiomara CastroCELAC seeks to strengthen political consultation and cooperation between member countries, but only adopt decisions by consensus.

In the statement, the Government of Honduras regretted that its proposal faced a “Systematic opposition” within the CELAC, especially in relation to The humanitarian crisis in Haiti and the situation of migrants. According to the Foreign Ministry, some countries prioritized “other principles and interests” above the regional unit.

The meeting had been summoned on Sunday by Xiomara Castroafter the diplomatic conflict between United States and Colombiagenerated by the decision of Gustavo Petro of Block the entry of two planes With Colombian deportees from the US, arguing that they should receive a deal “worthy” Before being repatriated.

In response, the US president Donald Trump imposed 25% tariffs to all Colombian products and warned that they would rise to 50% in a weekin addition to applying restrictions on visas, trips and migration. Petro responded with reciprocal measures, increasing the tension between the two countries.

However, the White House announced Sunday night that the crisis with Bogotá was “Resolved”since the Colombian government had accepted “All terms” raised by Trump regarding migrant repatriations.

Despite the cancellation of the summit, the temporary presidency of the CELAC said that it will continue to promote initiatives to address the problems of Latin American and Caribbean Integration and Unit.

Honduras stressed that he promoted debates on critical issues such as Crisis in Haiti, diplomatic aggression at the Mexico Embassy in Ecuador and the rights of migrantsas well as the social and economic impact of US migratory policies in the region.

“CELAC will continue to seek consensus and call meetings to respond to the historical problems of our region”concluded the statement of the Honduran Foreign Ministry.

(With EFE information)