Honduran President Xiomara Castro (R) welcomes Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the latter's arrival to the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, April 9, 2025. The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. (Photo by David de la Paz/Xinhua)

TEGUCIGALPA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Wednesday call on Latin America and the Caribbean to act as a "guiding light" for multilateralism in a world increasingly troubled by division and unilateralism.

Petro made the appeal at the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

"We must decide whether we help each other or retreat into loneliness," Petro said. "We can either face the world alone, as in One Hundred Years of Solitude, or we can act as a united humanity and support one another."

The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. ■

Honduran President Xiomara Castro (R) waves at her arrival to the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, April 9, 2025. The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. (Photo by David de la Paz/Xinhua)

Honduran President Xiomara Castro (R) welcomes Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the latter's arrival to the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, April 9, 2025. The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. (Photo by David de la Paz/Xinhua)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reacts at his arrival to the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, April 9, 2025. The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. (Photo by David de la Paz/Xinhua)

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel waves at his arrival to the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, April 9, 2025. The summit was attended by over a dozen heads of state and delegations from the bloc's 33 member countries. Honduras formally handed over CELAC's rotating presidency to Colombia. (Photo by David de la Paz/Xinhua)