Caracas, April 1, 2025 – The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America–Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Jorge Arreaza, emphasized this Tuesday that the regional bloc, whose Political Council met on Saturday, March 29, in Caracas, made it clear to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the administration of Donald Trump that it will not remain silent in the face of arbitrary actions.

“We saw it in the speeches of any of the ALBA countries; the Alliance does not stop at words alone (…) ALBA will work with a shared ethic,” Arreaza stated, while asserting that the member countries of the regional bloc have made their common stance clear against Marco Rubio’s threats in Latin America and the Caribbean.

During his participation in the podcast Aquí y Ahora, hosted by journalist Julio Riobó through the media outlet La Iguana, Arreaza also discussed the meeting of ALBA’s Ministers of Science and Technology, which was also held last week in Caracas. The discussions focused on the need for new technologies within the Alliance to protect the peoples.

“We must protect our youth, our peoples,” he reaffirmed. The Executive Secretary emphasized that, in addition to new technologies, ALBA must promote alternative transportation options to boost tourism development and the regional economy.

“ALBA is a great undertaking for the unity of Our America (…) We will also offer training programs, postgraduate studies, and doctoral degrees,” he stated.

Migration, the U.S., El Salvador, and the UN

“I am certain that Venezuela and its government will rescue its citizens who are being held hostage in El Salvador and that all this spectacle that has been orchestrated will eventually become nothing more than a bad memory,” Arreaza declared.

He explained that the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, could speak out on this situation, as he has done clearly, but that this forum lacks real power, as it has ceded authority to the major world powers. In the future, he argued, the structure of the organization must be reconsidered.

Regarding the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, the ALBA-TCP Secretary asserted that his is an authoritarian government, which, rather than strengthening security, is merely engaging in media spectacle. He further stated that once Bukele ceases to serve U.S. interests, he will be discarded, as has happened with other leaders.

It is unprecedented for a person to be sent to a third country for a migration-related offense and to be treated in an inhumane manner, as has now occurred with the United States and El Salvador—a country that continues to hold more than 300 Venezuelans hostage, deported by the Donald Trump administration without due process. “This is an atrocity, and we must protect ourselves against such actions (…) I believe the American people will react sooner rather than later,” he added.