The Summit of Divisions

The image of Cartagena to the world was quite beautiful. It was a glass window from which we could sell ourselves as a tourist-cultural attraction. The photograph of the attending presidents — just as it was planned — came out great. We had a week of tranquility and security for the citizens, and there were no homicides to mourn. All this demonstrated that when there is a police presence across the city, things tend to go well. The streets around the Historic Center became pedestrian-only, conducive to the enjoyment of our colonial beauty by foreigners and locals alike.

The meeting was opened with the presence of Barack Obama and a very pragmatic speech from President Santos, who spoke on behalf of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America member nations that were not present, with the exception of Evo Morales, and said that “…it could not exist, nor could another summit be called without Cuba’s presence, and the United States should lift the embargo from Cuba, since it has not yielded any substantial change in the island.” In the same manner, he touched upon the subject of the fight against drug traffic and that the possibility of legalization should be discussed.

It was already known that everything would be left in words, speeches, flag salutes and no conclusion. In this, the summit was much like most others. Obama was happy; with the presence of Shakira and President Santos, they delivered some collective land titles to the inhabitants of Palenque and La Boquilla. This contact with Latinos and African descendants is as useful for Obama and his reelection campaign in November as it is for Santos and his still distant reelection.

After the summit, it was clear that the American countries are more divided than ever. The United States, with its prominent and arrogant role, did not accept co-responsibility for the drug trafficking problem and maintained the useless and cruel embargo on Cuba. On the side of the Latin American countries, there are two blocs: The 21st-century socialists composed of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Cuba, who did not attend, and Argentina — which did attend and we believe left disgusted because Santos omitted the issues surrounding the Malvinas in his speech — and on the other side, the rest of the countries in America, that have democratic regimes and rights to free speech and dissent and private national and international employers.

However, the balance has been positive for Colombia and Cuba. Colombia has brought up the idea of a safe citizenry. Santos did well and announced a possible peace process with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia , if they lay down their arms. Colombians want peace, but with a serious process and not a repetition of the Caguán lie. For Cuba, it was positive to be a central topic of the discussions. The U.S. announced that it would extend visas to 10 years and the quick initiation of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement.

Cuba is not interested in joining the Organization of American States; the reality is that the country is no democracy, but a Castro-dynastic dictatorship, which on the next Jan. 1 will have spent 53 years oppressing its people. I was surprised to see Ladies in White marching in protest in Cartagena and thought that they had been allowed to visit from the island. But I discovered in talking to them that they were exiled Cubans from Miami.