I could not understand the cause of the euphoria that some of the participants in the Port of Spain Summit are expressing.
I made a great effort and read the famous Declaration of Commitment approved in that "Summit of the Americas." I had listened to the press conference led by Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, and composed of the eminent Stephen Harper, prime minister of Canada, and the presidents of Mexico and Panama, Félipe Calderón and Martín Torrijos. According to them it has been the most extraordinary Summit that ever took place.
Some kind of miracle must have occurred, I thought. The philosopher’s stone must have been discovered. Why worry for a single second more? Nobody thinks that it was a work of chance. Do we not know how to read and write? It is the OAS that has saved us all. That is confirmed in 13 of the 97 points of the final declaration.
I shall only take up six pages of the eight of this Reflection to likewise acknowledge the glories of the OAS:

"We reaffirm the principles and values of the Charter of the United Nations, the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development and the Millennium Declaration; and we are determined to intensify our fight against poverty, hunger, social exclusion, discrimination and inequality, and promote social inclusion and cohesion to improve the living conditions of our people to achieve development and social justice.

"We reaffirm the importance of promoting cooperation among our States on the basis of solidarity in the different spheres of inter-American relations in accordance with the principles and essential purposes of the Charter of the OAS, recognising our social, political and economic diversity.

"…We instruct our Ministers, in particular those responsible for finance, planning and social development, to initiate or strengthen the review of national social protection, inclusion and poverty eradication programmes… We call on the OAS, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and other relevant regional and subregional development and financial institutions to support these efforts within the scope of their mandates."

"…We call upon the Ministers of Labour, within the context of the OAS

Inter-American Conference of Ministers of Labour (IACML), in collaboration with their workers’ and employers’ consultative bodies and with the support of the ILO, as appropriate, to endorse, at the 16th IACML to be held in 2009, a work programme that advances these objectives."

"We request that the General Secretariat of the OAS submit to the next Summit of the Americas a progress report on the implementation of commitments made at the Meetings of Ministers Responsible for Public Security in the Americas (MISPA) and at the Meetings of Ministers of Justice or other Ministers or Attorneys General of the Americas (REMJA)… We look forward to advancing further cooperation at these meetings and the work of the OAS in support of the MISPA and the REMJA. We express appreciation for the ongoing technical support of the OAS in matters covered by these meetings.

"…We will encourage OAS efforts to prepare a comprehensive hemispheric strategy to promote inter-American cooperation in dealing with criminal gangs."

"…We renew our commitment to fight poverty, inequality, hunger and social exclusion in order to raise the standard of living of our peoples and strengthen democratic governance in the Americas, and we will uphold the principles of and fully implement the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

"We reiterate our support for the objectives of the Social Charter of the Americas and its Plan of Action, which seek to offer all of our citizens more opportunities to benefit from sustainable development with equity and social inclusion. We encourage the OAS to conclude the drafting of these instruments and will endeavour to conclude negotiations and adopt these documents before the end of 2009."

"We recognize the important role of the OAS in the peaceful resolution of our differences, its participation in the promotion of a culture of democracy, peace, dialogue and non-violence in the region, as well as its role in the implementation of the Inter-American Democratic Charter."
"Our countries will aim to continue to provide annual national reports to the OAS on the actions and progress made towards achieving the specific objectives set at the Summits of the Americas."

Why should we be surprised, with the support and inspiration of such a meritorious institution, that it is affirmed in the final point on Page 67 of the declaration:: "We, the Heads of State and Government of the Americas, hereby approve the contents of this ‘Declaration of Commitment of Port of Spain’ on this the 19th day of April, 2009."?
Is the OAS perchance the guarantor of the sovereignty and integrity of the peoples of Latin America? Always!
Did it at any point intervene in the internal affairs of any country in the hemisphere? Never!
Is it true that it has always represented a docile instrument of the United States? Never!
Did one single Latin American or Caribbean die on its account? Not one! Those are calumnies of Castro-Communism emanating from Cuba, a country expelled from the OAS because its government proclaimed Marxism-Leninism, a country where there was never an election, nobody votes or is elected, and in which a dictatorship reigns that has had the effrontery to confront a country as weak, defenseless and poor as the United States throughout half a century. If its does not mend its ways, the selfless and noble government of that country will not even sell Cuba an aspirin. The OAS is the guarantor of the suffering Cuban people and their democratic rights.