New Americas summit aims criticism at US

Leaders of Latin American and Caribbean nations worked Saturday to finalize an action plan for a new Americas bloc, which excludes the United States and which, according to its organizers, is designed to usher in a new era of Latin American "independence". Led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the leaders gathered Friday at a military fort for the two-day meeting to forge the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), an alliance of 33 countries that also excludes Canada. "We are laying down here a cornerstone of our future unity, independence and development," Chavez said in his welcoming address. More than 10,000 security forces are ensuring safety of the summiteers in Caracas, one of the region's most dangerous cities. "For the first time, we will have an organization for our America. And if it works, if it's successful, it can be considered the biggest event in our 200 years of semi-independence," Cuban President Raul Castro said. CELAC should be a "political union to build a large power center of the 21st century," the Venezuelan president said on the eve of the summit, pointing to strong regional growth, with many countries developing closer ties with Asia or Europe and reducing their traditional reliance on the United States. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a strong Chavez ally, said meanwhile the birth of the new group represented a "death sentence for the Monroe Doctrine," referring to the 1823 declaration by US president James Monroe which helped establish US power in the region. In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the United States would obviously continue "to work through the OAS as the preeminent multilateral organization, speaking for the hemisphere." But another State Department spokesman, William Ostick, said the new organization could be a partner for Washington as well. "Subregional groupings are potentially important representatives of the hemisphere and can be useful partners for the United States," he said. "The United States interacts with subregional multilateral groups as an important part of helping to constructively solve problems and engage with key actors in the region," he said. The summit comes as many countries celebrate 200 years of independence and a month after an Ibero-American summit in Paraguay -- including former regional colonizers Spain and Portugal. But questions remain about the role the fledgling grouping will play in the diverse region, in the shadow of the current crisis in the European Union. On Thursday, foreign ministers adopted a democracy clause in CELAC bylaws, although there was no consensus on how the group would conduct its decision-making progress. "It provides that if a country violates a democratic order, we would open consultations and the country could be suspended" from CELAC, said Antonio Jose Ferreira Simoes, Brazil's vice-minister for South America, Central America and the Caribbean. He said Brazil favored a decision-making process based on consensus. The foreign ministers also approved statements on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, nuclear weapons, food security and terror, according to Simoes. Leaders are expected to review and discuss these documents Friday and Saturday. Regional leaders proposed the new grouping in February 2010 in Mexico, more than 60 years after the start of the Organization of American States, which is based in Washington and which excludes communist Cuba. Chavez dismissed the "old and worn-out" OAS, suggesting CELAC would eventually take its place. OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza acknowledged CELAC would be a "natural match" for the regional organization, and expressed hope that the new group would "enhance inter-American dialogue." The first CELAC meeting was initially scheduled for July, but delayed after Chavez was diagnosed with cancer of an undisclosed type which he says he has since beaten. The next CELAC summit is scheduled to take place in Chile next year, followed by Cuba in 2013.