Latin American & US Organizations Call for Governments to Unite Against US Imperialism
This article by Iván Evair Saldaña originally appeared in the September 28, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.
Mexico City. Labor and migrant advocacy organizations from seven Latin American countries and the United States deliberated this Sunday to call for “unity among the continent’s governments against the imperialist policies” of President Donald Trump, which also includes the defense of Venezuela. They agreed to convene a Continental Day of Action for the Right to Migrate in all countries of the hemisphere during the second week of March 2026.
The announcement came at the conclusion of the Continental Conference For the Rights of Migrants and National Sovereignty held in Mexico City on September 27 and 28 at the headquarters of the National Union of Workers of the Metropolitan Autonomous University (SITUAM). This conference brought together 120 representatives from various organizations working with migrant populations.
“Resistance against Trump’s policies is growing in the United States, as seen in the street demonstrations. In Panama, the people are fighting to defend the Canal. In several countries, such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, people are fighting against imperialist interference and its agents, like Bolsonaro and his generals. In other cases, such as Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina, they are fighting against puppet regimes. These are expressions of the same cause: the defense of national sovereignty. The fight for the right to migrate is part of the fight for workers’ rights and human rights,” they stated in a statement.
They also acknowledged that Presidents Lula Da Silva (Brazil), Claudia Sheinbaum (Mexico), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Nicolás Maduro (Venezuela) and Xiomara Castro (Honduras) have vigorously spoken out in defense of migrants, but “until now each one acts on their own, and the adversary is too strong to confront individually, when what is desirable is the unity of the continent’s governments against imperialist policies.”
The meeting addressed the increasingly restrictive conditions of U.S. immigration policies, particularly under the Donald Trump administration.
“Imperialist policy is the main cause of forced migrations driven by free trade policies, ‘structural adjustments,’ the ‘War on Terror,’ and the ‘War on Drugs,’ which displace populations and are systematically used against national sovereignty. In this regard, French colonialism, still present in the Caribbean, has a complementary effect, suffocating peoples seeking independence.”
“The most striking case of aggression today is against Venezuela, with economic attacks, lethal attacks on vessels, and threats of military intervention. We call for the unconditional defense of our sister country,” they stated.
They also highlighted the effects of these measures on migrant communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, which in January 2025 reached a record high of 53 million people, equivalent to 15.8% of its total population, while in 2023 the number of unauthorized immigrants reached 14 million, mainly from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
The participants called on the region’s governments to coordinate policies for migrant reception, job placement, and healthcare, emphasizing that, to date, each country has acted individually in response to a continental phenomenon.
The impacts of economic, trade, and security policies that have led to forced displacement and mass migration were also discussed, as well as the need for Latin American governments to articulate a common position regarding these structural causes.
The Continental Day of Action, planned for 2026, seeks to highlight the demands and rights of migrants and strengthen cooperation between organizations and governments to protect them.
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