Caracas, February 3, 2025 – During his address at the 12th Extraordinary Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America–Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), the President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, emphasized that this gathering serves as a crucial platform for discussing fundamental issues related to the preservation of freedom and the historical mission of the Alliance as a mechanism of solidarity-based integration and genuine cooperation.

“The current historical juncture in our region reflects the increasing complexity of various challenges and problems that require comprehensive and collective responses. Our America is under the scrutiny of a superpower that seeks to prevent, through force, the transition to a new world order,” Arce stressed.

He asserted that migration is a manifestation of the movement of our peoples, which has intensified in recent times due to the pressures and sanctions imposed by the United States, directly affecting citizens.

“We recognize the need to implement strategies that promote safe, orderly, and regular migration in line with the commitments made in the 2018 Global Compact for Migration. However, beyond international agreements, the real challenge lies in preventing any attempt to criminalize migration. We must ensure dignified treatment for every person in mobility, safeguarding their human rights and those of their families,” Arce declared.

He added that the Bolivarian Alliance must take a leading role—at the multilateral level—in advocating for the United Nations to declare migration a human right. “Migration is an intrinsic process in human history; many migrants have contributed to the development of other nations.”

“From ALBA, we must reject these U.S. policies against migrants. We condemn the spread of hate speech and xenophobia against those who have significantly contributed to the economic development of other countries. Migrants play a fundamental role in national development (…) We will not allow our migrants to be treated as criminals. Peaceful dialogue is the path to sound migration policy,” he affirmed.

To conclude his address, Arce added, “We support the fight against coyotes (people who organize human trafficking), we also agree on the need for an ALBA center for artificial intelligence, we endorse the strengthening of productive initiatives, and from Bolivia, we also support AgroALBA.”