Almost no one wants to fight directly with Donald Trump in Santa Marta, Colombia, 3,000 kilometers off the coast of the United States and very close to the border with Venezuela, a country where the leader of the most powerful army on the planet is threatening to intervene militarily to end the regime of Nicolás Maduro. No one is talking about him clearly, and the clamorous absence in Latin America and Europe from the EU and CELAC summit is also a way to avoid a clash with him.
But in reality, Trump is present in all the debates, and his attacks on Venezuelan ships, killing their crew members under the pretext that they were carrying drugs, and transporting an aircraft carrier to the coast near Venezuela, have a major role in the summit atmosphere. In this context, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, one of the heroes of the summit with Brazilian Lula, presented himself in Colombia as an anti-Trump leader who defends a multilateral world of cooperation and agreements that is completely different from the world of the American far right.
Sanchez and Lula, who are supported by other progressive Latin American presidents such as Chilean Gabriel Buric or Uruguayan Yamando Orci, and to a lesser extent by Colombian Gustavo Petro himself, who is going through difficult times, are trying to find alliances in America and Europe against Trump and his imperial vision of a world dominated by bilateral relations between him and some presidents and imposing his decisions with the power of his economy or army, both of which are the most powerful in the world. In his speech at the summit, Sánchez peppered his speech with references to that rules-based multilateral world versus one imposed by Trump. “No country can face global challenges alone,” Sanchez said.
The PSOE leader claims that two years ago, under the Spanish presidency of the European Union, he was able to revitalize this forum through a meeting in Brussels attended by almost all the relevant Latin American and European presidents. Now Colombia’s Petro has had much less success in its advocacy, but Sanchez believes that this kind of multilateral structure must be maintained precisely to preserve an alternative world to Trump’s.
Sanchez moved to try to ensure that the summit did not fail, and he himself made a great effort to reach Santa Marta de Belem – he had to use two different planes because the large plane could not land at the airport of this Caribbean city – other high-ranking Spanish leaders also went there such as the Vice-President of the Commission, Teresa Ribera – the President Ursula von der Leyen did not attend – the President of the European Investment Bank and the former President of the Commission. Minister of Economy Nadia Calviño.
Thus, Sanchez is trying to keep the relationship between the European Union and Latin America strong at a time when Trump is trying to regain his weight on this continent by displacing the Europeans and the Chinese, especially through the new leaders of the far right in Latin America.
“If two years ago the EU-CLAC summit represented a political priority, today it has become a geostrategic necessity,” Sanchez explained. “Because the challenges we face – violations of international law in Gaza or Ukraine, attacks on free trade, weakening of global governance – affect us all.”
The Spanish President stressed, “The world has changed a lot since our last summit in Brussels. In such a changing world, this alliance offers something essential: trust. A relationship built on principles, mutual respect, and a shared vision. Europe and Latin America can and must be a beacon of stability, prosperity and openness in this uncertain time full of risks.”
Sanchez received applause when he suggested that the next Secretary-General of the United Nations be a woman and a Latin American. Among the most popular of these are Rebecca Greenspan, former Secretary General of the Ibero-American Secretary General, but also Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, or Susana Malcorra, former Argentine Chancellor during the presidency of Mauricio Macri.
The Spanish president also used the forum to press in favor of the final ratification of the EU-Mercosur agreement, which Spain hopes to achieve before the end of the year, around December 20, when the next summit of this group of countries in the South American continent takes place.
France continues to show resistance, and Emmanuel Macron was not present at the EU/CLAC summit, which is a clear signal of a move away from foreign policy, but he was in Mexico, where he tried to strengthen bilateral relations. The European Union is also working to strengthen its relations with Mexico once again as an alternative to the Trump world of which Sánchez is the standard-bearer. Despite France’s resistance, Sanchez is convinced that the agreement will be ratified at the end of the year, according to La Moncloa sources.
In the face of this progress made by the United States and China on the continent, Sanchez claimed, “Europe remains the main investor in Latin America, with Spain in the lead.” “My country is, in addition, one of the largest contributors to the Global Gateway Agenda. Of the 9.4 billion euros that we committed to contribute two years ago until 2027, we have already mobilized 5,300 for operations in the region and connectivity projects, green and digital transition, health, and sustainable infrastructure. From the Hispasat satellites in Central America to the electrical interconnection between Chile and Peru, this cooperation creates a shared future,” he stressed.
Sánchez also took the opportunity to put forward a new demand for positive discourse on immigration, specifically in Colombia, where the issue is very sensitive due to Trump’s deportations, and which Petro is confronting very strongly. “The European Union and Latin America are more than partners: we are intertwined families,” concluded Sánchez. “Millions from Latin America and the Caribbean today contribute to Spain’s progress, in the same way that Latin America welcomed thousands of Europeans in search of hope during the twentieth century. Our shared history is a bridge that continues to grow on the best possible pillars: our people.”
Thus, the Spanish president strengthens his anti-Trump rhetoric, although he avoids direct confrontation with him and never mentions him. For Sánchez, as he pointed out in the interview with El Pais on Sunday, the great political battle in the coming years is this, between those committed to multilateralism and science, and thus the fight against climate change, against Trump and his allies, who abandon multilateral forums and commit to fighting the battle alone and under the law of the strongest.
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