Venezuela crisis and Colombia’s peace overshadow Ibero American Summit

World Today

Juan Manuel Santos, Jimmy MoralesGuatemala’s President Jimmy Morales makes his closing remarks alongside Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos during the 25th Ibero-American Summit in Cartagena, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. The Ibero-American Summit is an annual meeting of heads of state from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

The annual Ibero American Summit, has ended in Cartagena, Colombia, with a commitment to work more closely with the regions youth.

For 25 years now, Spain and Portugal have come together with their former colonies in Latin America.

But as CCTV’s Michael Voss reports, other events have overshadowed the summit.

If there is one thing the leaders of Latin America along with Spain and Portugal agreed on at the Ibero-American summit was that they need to do more to improve both access and quality of education across the region.

But there was much less agreement on the current economic and political crisis in Venezuela, with Peru’s President urging delegates not to ignore the issue.

President Nicolas Maduro did not attend the summit.

There have been mass protests in recent days after the supreme court cancelled a recall referendum that the opposition was trying to organize amid severe shortages in Venezuela.

Some of those attending the summit believe sanctions are needed, but in an exclusive interview with CCTV, Ecuador’s President said that sanctions are not the answer.

Ecuador has offered to host the new peace talks involving Colombia’s second armed guerrilla group, the ELN.

Negotiations have also resumed in Cuba to try and find a comprise to the peace agreement with the Colombian FARC rebels, which was rejected in a referendum.

Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos told the summit that time was short, the ceasefire with the FARC is fragile but he remains confident a new comprehensive peace deal can be reached.


The summit is taking place in Cartagena, a highly symbolic location for the historic relationship between Spain and its former colonies.