Quito, January 28 (RHC-teleSUR) -- Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa closed Wednesday’s heads of state meeting at the IV Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, with a call for member countries to continue fighting for “justice, freedom and sovereignty.”

“CELAC continues fighting the attacks in Latin America, like the U.S. blockade on Cuba and the attacks against Venezuela that have been labeled by the U.S. as a threat to its security,” he said Wednesday.

The meeting, held in Quito, Ecuador, brought together 22 presidents from across Latin America and the Caribbean to discuss questions of regional importance, such as food security and the fight against organized crime and corruption.

As a result of these discussions, several key declarations were ratified by CELAC members including the declaration to end the U.S. blockade against Cuba, to defend the Malvinas Islands, to support the peace process in Colombia, to prohibit nuclear testing and to support policy to protect migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Other highlights included Haiti’s call for a CELAC electoral mission to help manage the country’s political crisis and Bolivian

Unity and regional integration was a central theme of the summit with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arguing, “We have to promote a collective understanding, which is capable of overcoming differences that can arise among us with regards to different ideas, development models and subregional differences.”

Bolivian President Evo Morales likewise stated “The purpose of CELAC always has been and always will be to work towards liberating the region both economically and politically.”

President Correa concluded the heads of state meeting by passing the pro tempore presidency of CELAC to the president of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina.