Meanwhile in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez is hosting the sixth summit of ALBA, the Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas. ALBA was established as a counterweight to US-led trade agreements in Latin America. On Wednesday, the existing members voted to admit Ecuador. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa praised ALBA as a further shift towards regional integration.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa: “We are soliciting to be incorporated in the ALBA in a demonstration of political consequence, of ideological empathy and solidarity with our brother countries. Of course it is a political project. It is a project of solidarity, of integration.”