Nobody knows what does the new forum created by Latin American and the Caribbean countries consist of, said disapprovingly Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs José García Belaúnde, who ruled out the possibility that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States might replace the Organization of American States (OAS).

"I do not know how it will work. I have no idea of what we did in Cancun," Belaúnde said during a debate at Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank based in Washington, as reported by Efe.

"Nobody knows what will be the mission of the forum; because we do not have a common vision," the Foreign Minister admitted. García identified a "sort of low-intensity Cold War in Latin America" due to the confrontation "between two models of development which sometimes exclude each other."

García added that in the Rio Group meeting held in February in the Mexican resort of Cancun, where the countries of the region created the new forum that seek to exclude explicitly the United States, "there were no concrete agreements."

The new forum, where "we were more disunited than ever," "cannot replace the OAS," according to the Peruvian diplomat.

García said that talks between Washington and Latin America would have to take place between groups of countries and not between the regional bloc and the US, since the Latin American and Caribbean countries "have just a few things in common."

He regretted that Latin America has never "had a forum that can settle our conflicts and intraregional disputes" and rather it has proposed "forums versus third-countries."

García accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez of "been irresponsible," for having "demonized trade integration" while prioritizing politics. The Peruvian Minister said that this has adversely affected the progress of regional forums.