President José Antonio Kast made his debut Tuesday at the Mercosur heads of state summit in Asunción, Paraguay, where he urged greater regional coordination against organized crime and addressed the recent tragedy in Venezuela.
In his nearly 15-minute speech at the 68th Summit of Heads of State of Mercosur and Associated States, Kast referred to the double earthquake that struck Venezuela six days earlier. “None of us asked about the ideology of whoever was under the rubble,” he said.
The Chilean leader warned of organized crime as a silent threat and proposed building a regional “security architecture” with clear targets, including border management, arms control and intelligence sharing. He also outlined a regional migration agenda.
Participating countries issued a joint communiqué reaffirming their commitment to democratic consolidation and strengthened cooperation on public security. Kast held bilateral meetings with the presidents of Brazil, Ecuador and Bolivia.
