Former presidents meet in commission to discuss Colombia’s position on Venezuela

Bogotá, Aug 21 (EFE).- The Foreign Relations Advisory Committee, made up of former presidents and former high-ranking Colombian officials, met on Wednesday to discuss, among other things, Colombia’s position on the situation in Venezuela with the absence of several former presidents opposed to the current government.

This was stated by former Foreign Minister Julio Londoño Paredes to journalists, after the meeting attended by former presidents, congressmen, delegates and the Colombian Foreign Minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo.

The participants highlighted “their cooperation and interest in cooperating with the Government in the direction and decision-making in foreign policy matters whenever the Government considers it necessary,” said Londoño when summarizing the meeting on Wednesday.

One of the main topics was Venezuela, but Londoño did not provide details of what was discussed by the attendees in relation to the situation in the neighbouring country.

In the words of the former foreign minister, the meeting was “very constructive on the part of each and every member of the Commission with a fundamental spirit that international policy is a State policy and that it is of interest to all Colombians and that is how it should be carried out going forward,” he added.

One of the main functions of the Foreign Relations Advisory Commission is to assist the president in matters of international policy and another meeting of the Commission is scheduled for next week, which Petro is supposed to attend.

Venezuela and the absent

Before the meeting, former President Juan Manuel Santos stated on social media that he would present his views on the situation in Venezuela at the meeting and criticized the refusal of other former presidents to attend the meeting.

“Regardless of the government in power, former presidents have a commitment to the country to heed the call of the Foreign Relations Advisory Committee. Today I will go to express my disagreement with Colombia’s position regarding the fraudulent election in Venezuela and also regarding other aspects of our foreign policy,” wrote Santos.

Former President Iván Duque (2018-2022), a staunch opponent of the Petro Government, did not attend the meeting and justified his absence by claiming that he does not share “the ambivalent and complicit position of the Petro government with the Venezuelan dictatorship.”

“This meeting of the Foreign Relations Advisory Commission is being called late, after several weeks in which the dictator (the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro) has attempted to harm his people and also violate the right that Venezuelans have had against all odds to elect a legitimate government,” Duque said in a video posted on his X account.

Former President Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) was also absent from the meeting and claimed that he had spoken by telephone with Foreign Minister Murillo to express his views on the issues to be discussed.

Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002) and César Gaviria (1990-1994) previously stated that they would not be attending the meeting because they do not agree with the way Petro has handled foreign policy issues such as Venezuela.

The meeting, which was attended by former President Ernesto Samper (1994-1998), took place at the San Carlos Palace, headquarters of the Colombian Foreign Ministry.

Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have maintained a similar stance on Venezuela, without recognizing any winner and asking the government of Nicolás Maduro to hand over the electoral records, while their foreign ministers have said that they will maintain their “high-level” consultations, but with full respect for the “sovereignty and will of the Venezuelan people.”

Twenty-four days after the presidential elections, Venezuela still does not know the official disaggregated electoral results, while a controversial judicial process advances for the “validation” of the announced victory of Nicolás Maduro, a triumph rejected by the opposition, which insists on the victory of Edmundo González Urrutia.

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