Haiti’s President Michel Martelly departed for Caracas Friday to attend of a summit of leftist Latin American leaders hosted by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez.

Martelly said he was attending the summit of the Bolivarian Alliance, known as Alba, “to explore opportunities for my country.”

“Some might see it as taking a position, but I don’t see it like that,” Martelly told reporters.

“Haiti is not at war with anyone. It has the right to get together with other countries for the good of its people.”

Haiti is still struggling to recover from a massive earthquake in January 2010 that killed an estimated 220,000 people, and left much of its capital in ruins.

Founded by Chavez and Cuba’s Fidel Castro in 2004, the group was formed as a counter-weight to a U.S. initiative to create a free-trade area encompassing the Americas.

Besides Venezuela and Cuba, member states include Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Haiti has observer status with the group.

Cuban President Raul Castro was attending the summit at the head of a large delegation, Cuban television reported from Havana.