The president-elect, Gustavo Petro, had a key meeting yesterday in what has to do with the management of diplomatic relations with the United States.
He met at the Four Seasons Casa Medina hotel in Bogotá with a delegation sent by the government of President Joe Biden, led by Jonathan Finer, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States.
“A contemporary agenda between Colombia and the United States, with the current problems, with those that arise”, is the dynamic that exists between both countries, according to what Petro said at the end of the meeting.
In said meeting, which lasted for more than two hours, topics such as peace, the climate crisis, anti-drug policy, common security, democracy and the diplomatic relationship with Venezuela were discussed.
“It is a positive meeting, because it shows the interest that exists today in the Government of the United States in Latin America and in Colombia. Above all, an interest that is built around common work, among equals”, added the elected president before giving the floor to Finer.
He, for his part, expressed that they had “a very good and productive day in Bogotá”. In that sense, the American assured that Biden sent the delegates “to recognize the fact that the United States and Colombia are two sovereign nations, two equal partners that have a deep relationship.”
Finer even pointed out that they covered the entire range of issues that encompass the relationship between the two countries: climate change, migration, the fight once morest drugs, among others.
The deputy advisor assured that during the meeting, in which other figures from the Petro administration participated, such as the new Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva and Luis Gilberto Murillo, designated ambassador in Washington, they reached an agreement on the specific “paths” with which the Americans will participate in what is discussed.
Peace
On the implementation of the peace agreement, Finer said that Biden respects what was negotiated and will seek to “deepen and fill in the gaps in the areas that have not yet been implemented.”
Faced with the normalization of relations with Venezuela, Biden’s people pointed out that the United States will continue to recognize Juan Guaidó as interim president until there are democratic elections in that country.
Finally, Finer indicated that the Biden administration does not support the decriminalization of drugs, but that a “more holistic” approach to narcotics has been implemented since the Duque government.
Immediately following the meeting, it was learned that the turn for the dialogue with the US delegation was for Francia Márquez, elected vice president.
In addition, Finer assured that the Biden government is committed to “strengthening this relationship over time” and thanked President Iván Duque for the years of binational alliance, with whom he also spoke yesterday.
Once his meeting with the envoys from the White House was over, Petro met with Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, vice president for Latin America at the World Bank, who expressed to the president-elect his “commitment to work on an inclusive development and growth agenda, green and sustainable. As well as in the post-pandemic economic recovery in the country.”
The relationships
Not everything is said in the diplomatic advances.
Yesterday it was announced that Samantha Power, current administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, will lead the delegation that Biden will send for the possession of Petro. It is still unknown if the US president will attend the ceremony.
Four years ago, for the inauguration of Iván Duque, the then United States ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, was delegated by Donald Trump to represent the country in the act.
