Representatives of European, Latin American and Caribbean nations gathered Sunday in Colombia to try to strengthen ties amid divisions in the Western Hemisphere over the U.S. military operation targeting alleged drug-carrying vessels.

The deadly U.S. operation was key point of discussion as Colombian President Gustavo Petro is among its strongest critics.

"What does democracy mean today when there are bombs falling in Gaza?" Petro said during the opening of the summit. "Now missiles are falling in the Caribbean."

The U.S. strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific have killed more than 60 people since September.

Petro has called the deaths “extrajudicial executions” and has identified at least one of the killed as a Colombian citizen.

Colombian officials have indicated they will seek the signing of a declaration on renewable energy, food security, financing and technological cooperation at the end of the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the European Union.

But the relevance of the summit in the northern Colombia city of Santa Marta has come into question because of the absence of heads of state and senior officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry has attributed the issue to scheduling conflicts with a United Nations climate summit and has sought to downplay concerns by highlighting the presence of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.