Donald Trump will not be in the room when European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders gather together on Sunday for a multilateral summit in Santa Marta, Colombia.
But his foreign policy has already left a mark – and is shaping the agenda.
Europe's top brass, from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, will skip the EU-CELAC Summit.
They are part of the more than two dozen high-level cancellations from a summit initially billed as an opportunity to further develop the diplomatic and business ties between the European Union and Latin America.
As Trump's tariffs roil the world, the EU has embarked on a global effort to expand its trading partners, focusing on Latin America, a continent rich in natural resources, and reviving partnerships from Mexico to Mercosur.
Still, the European delegation travelling to Colombia this time is mostly restricted to nations with historical links to the continent, like Spain and Portugal. Some of the reasons cited for the wave of no-shows are conflicting schedules with COP30 in Brazil, the passage of Hurricane Melissa and the low-ranking status of attendants.
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