Chavez, Castro Exclude US, Canada from CELAC

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the communist Cuba are leading efforts to create a unifying body of all Latin American nations that is seen as a counter to the exclusionary Organization of the American States, reports CNSNews.com.

One aim of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be to promote economic agendas and political cooperation throughout Latin America.

Another objective will be to protect the “emerging powers of the south” from “imperialism,” wrote Chavez in a letter that his foreign minister read before the United Nations General Assembly. “Only in this alliance of the south lies the possibility of a peaceful coexistence on the earth, for there is nothing to expect from the imperialist north, arrogant and violent.

“The 33 countries that comprise Latin America and the Caribbean are currently preparing to give the historic step of establishing a great regional entity that groups us all, without exclusions, where we can design together the policies that will ensure our wellbeing, our independence and our sovereignty, based on equality, solidarity and complementarity,” the letter continued.

A meeting of heads of state is planned for early December in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.