By

Lucia Newman

Latin America Editor

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic  - Outrageous. Disgusting. Nauseating. These are just a few of the long  list of qualifiers against the Trump administration's announcement to go  ahead with building the infamous wall separating the United States from  the rest of Latin America.

"We have to protect ourselves from the aggressive policy of  persecuting migrants. The attacks against human rights is one of the  central topics that brought us to this summit," said Ecuadoran President  Rafael Correa as he arrived in Punta Cana.

"Our commitment is to defend the right to migrate, the most important  form of movement. It is not the flow of capital or the flow of  merchandise, but rather the mobility of human beings, which is a human  right," Correa added.

Ten heads of state and 33 foreign ministers gathered at the annual  CELAC - the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States - summit in  the Dominican Republic were already preparing to debate ways to  confront a new regional reality.

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"The phantom of protectionism and closure of borders would have grave  consequences. We must de everything we can to prevent a return to the  past … We are facing an adverse international scenario. We need to stick  together to defend our alliance," said host President Danilo Medina as  he opened the summit.

But the speed with which the Trump administration has decided to go  ahead with his electoral vow to build a wall along the US-Mexico border  apparently caught everyone off guard.

Tuesday night, as his plane was preparing to fly him to Punta Cana  for the summit, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto abruptly cancelled  his trip, attributing it to reason of "internal agenda".

The announcement came after Pena Nieto got wind of President Trump's  plans to announce details of "the wall of infamy", as it is called in  much of Latin America.

Latin American leaders arriving at CELAC summit [Lucia Newman/Al Jazeera]

It is not just Mexico that would be affected, but tens of thousands  of Central Americas and Caribbeans who for decades have used the  US-Mexican border to enter the United States without visas.

The CELAC summit is due to end late on Wednesday with a strong  condemnation of White House policy towards Latin American, including the  renegotiation of free trade agreements with Mexico (NAFTA) and probably  Central America (CAFTA).

Nevertheless, for now, Trump's counterparts south of the border seem  hard pressed to respond with something more substantial than just words.

Source: Al Jazeera News