Latin American leaders have cancelled a summit to discuss Donald Trump's migrant crackdown, as the region weighs the risks of openly confronting the firebrand US president. Honduras had called an urgent meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to discuss migration after the blazing row between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro over the weekend. But Honduras was forced to cancel the meeting after no prominent regional leaders apart from Petro confirmed their attendance.
The dispute saw Trump rapidly move to enact tariffs and other sanctions on Colombia after Petro blocked the arrival of US military aircraft carrying deported migrants. Within hours, the White House said Bogotá had folded to its demands. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum denied Wednesday that she and other leaders were afraid of invoking Trump's ire.
"Our link with Latin America exists, and will continue to exist," she insisted. Yet the fate suffered by Petro appears to have given other leaders cause for reflection. Sandra Borda, professor of political science at the University of the Andes in Bogotá, blamed what she described as Petro's ham-fisted diplomacy for the lack of regional unity.
"The way President Petro launched the conversation with Washington destroyed any possibility of consensus," she said. "Everyone is scared because Washington has bared its teeth and we know what happens when we do not follow the diktats." In a sign of the shift, Honduran President .
