In order to strengthen diplomacy and respect for international law, national government authorities led an international virtual meeting on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of the Declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, in which they ratified the commitment to regional peace. 606 delegates from 38 countries participated in the event, including social movements, political parties and authorities from the region and the world.
During the meeting, the Minister of Popular Power for Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil, highlighted that the peace defended by Venezuela is not a simple “absence of conflicts” under schemes of domination, but a full exercise of sovereignty.
Gil also shared an audiovisual of this important meeting through his Telegram channel, in which he noted that it has been fundamental to reaffirm the commitment to a region that rejects militarization, armed conflict and foreign military aggression.
“We have denounced the military aggression suffered by Venezuela on January 3, as well as the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia, incidents that threaten the essence of the Peace Zone, unanimously proclaimed by all CELAC member states since 2014,” he stressed.
«It is not the Roman peace of domination or submission; That is not the peace that the Latin American community is referring to. It is a peace with sovereignty, with full exercise of freedom and will to development. “Destiny gives us complex tests, but the way to our emancipation is, definitively, peace,” said Gil.
For his part, deputy Nicolás Maduro Guerra emphasized that, despite external aggressions, Venezuela has a robust institutional framework and a conscious people: «We are stronger than ever; “We have guaranteed a solid State and a cohesive civil-military union,” he said in reference to the current political situation.
International defense agenda
Likewise, Maduro Guerra announced the work agenda for the coming days, highlighting that, from February 9 to 11, the Congress of Jurists will be held. This meeting will seek to debate the defense of international law against external aggression and will feature national and international guests.
Meanwhile, the executive secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (Alba-TCP), Rander Peña, closed the interventions by underlining the conceptual difference of peace for the peoples of the South: «For the powers, peace means order and submission. For us, it means social justice and respect for the right to decide our own political model without fear.
International solidarity and historical validity
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, intervened to read a letter addressed to the United Nations (UN), in which he condemned the attacks against President Nicolás Maduro and the first combatant, Cilia Flores, demanding respect for the popular will.
In that sense, the vice president of International Affairs of the PSUV, Tania Díaz, and deputy Jorge Arreaza, paid tribute to the validity of the proclamation reached in Havana, Cuba, in 2014, under the consensus of the 33 member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).
Finally, Venezuela reiterated that its foreign policy will continue to be based on Bolivarian Peace Diplomacy, prioritizing dialogue and reason as tools over military force.
