The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, met on Tuesday (8) with the President of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, in the Colombian city of Barranquilla, to discuss strengthening bilateral and military cooperation in the region.
In statements to the press, the Secretary of State promised that elections would be held in Venezuela “soon”. However, in the same vein as his boss, American President Donald Trump considered that, first, it will be necessary to “guarantee the necessary conditions”.
“It needs to happen as quickly as possible, from my perspective, but it has to be done properly. Otherwise there will be more chaos.”
Rubio stated that the United States government counts on the collaboration of the Venezuelan National Assembly, elected in 2015, whose mandate has expired, in negotiations with the government of Delcy Rodríguez. The Secretary of State refers to the dialogues established between sectors of Chavismo and the opposition, which began in August.
“We have ongoing negotiations. In fact, it is a process of reconciliation and transition between the 2015 National Assembly, the last Assembly that we recognized as democratically elected, and the country’s interim authorities”, stated the secretary, also conditioning the holding of elections in the South American country to the “reconstruction of institutions”.
“You need a Supreme Court, a National Election Board, voting infrastructure, political parties and a free and open press so that candidates can run for office and express themselves,” the Trump official said.
Rubio also stated that he will soon visit Venezuela, a country militarily attacked by Donald Trump’s government on January 3 of this year.
“We will get there [à Venezuela] sooner or later, like I said, but you can’t go everywhere. It’s a condensed week, obviously, with Labor Day and then 9/11, when we mark the 25th anniversary. Therefore, we simply could not include another destination, and these are countries that I needed to visit and that I had not yet been to”, he declared.
Relations between Colombia and Venezuela
In turn, the Colombian president said he will cooperate with the US government to “guarantee regional stability”.
“We addressed the situation in Venezuela, a topic not far from Colombia, as we share more than 2 thousand kilometers of active border, with direct consequences on security, migration, drug trafficking, smuggling, armed organizations and energy. Colombia will participate responsibly in efforts to guarantee regional stability and deepen border, migratory and security cooperation”, stated Espriella.
“It is clear that everything that happens in Venezuela has direct consequences in Colombia in terms of security, migration, drug trafficking, smuggling, armed organizations and also energy”, he added.
Colombia was the first stop for Marco Rubio, who is also visiting Ecuador and Peru, both countries governed by the extreme right, and whose elections were marked by suspicions of interference from the United States.
The conversation takes place at a time of intense interference by Washington over Venezuela, which has been under United States supervision since January, when President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores were kidnapped and taken to a prison in New York, where they await trial scheduled for June 2027.
Elections and combat against guerrillas
Following the joint statements, Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered an interview to the local press, in which he claimed that the presence of the National Liberation Army and criminal groups on the border with Venezuela represents a direct threat to Colombia. The US secretary stated that Washington intends to act through cooperation mechanisms and reported having addressed the issue of border security with Venezuelan interim authorities, including the president in charge, Delcy Rodríguez.
“We have the ELN and FARC dissidents operating openly and with impunity from Venezuelan territory. This has been happening for more than 10, 15 years. This must be resolved. I made it clear to the interim authorities in Venezuela and I believe that this will be fundamental to improving the relationship between the two countries. It is impossible for relations to really improve as long as this issue remains as it is”, declared Rubio, without presenting evidence of the comment made.
Agreements between Colombia and the USA
During the Secretary of State’s visit, the governments of Colombia and the United States signed new memorandums of understanding. Among the measures announced is cooperation on the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, as well as an agreement on civil nuclear energy.
The two countries also announced joint participation in the so-called Shield of the Americas, a military and security initiative that brings together 19 far-right governments, whose headquarters will be installed in the Colombian city of Medellín.
During the announcement, authorities confirmed the return of actions to spray glyphosate, a highly toxic pesticide linked to the incidence of cancer, against drug cultivation. The Colombian government also requested support from the United States to obtain financing from multilateral bodies and requested the opening of a consulate in Barranquilla.
On the trip, Rubio celebrated the change of government in Colombia and criticized the previous government, led by former president Gustavo Petro.
“There is also an institutional disaster resulting from four years of bad government that damaged the relationship between the United States and Colombia, something that is not natural. The United States and Colombia have a very strong bond that goes beyond cooperation between governments, being a cultural, social and person-to-person bond,” he declared.
“The natural state of things is for the United States and Colombia to be allies, and the last four years have been an aberration between governments, something that is clearly changing,” said the secretary.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
