The US and Colombia express their harmony in the Capitol

Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva arrived at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, where he found harmony and bipartisan support for a refocused cooperation relationship with the United States.

From the South American country – he said – they believe that there is a common denominator of interests to “strengthen that relationship” within the framework of 200 years of bilateral cooperation.

“We are not going to change our companions, it has been 200 years that at many times have been very wrong, very wrong! (…) Perfect the 200 years of relations to improve them, because we are not going to change transit companions and especially in the fundamentals, “explained Minister Leyva during an event organized by the Atlantic Council think tank, in one of the halls of the headquarters of the US Legislature.

The Colombian foreign minister, who arrived in the US capital before the official visit of President Gustavo Pedro to Washington, where he plans to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House, he said that there are points of great interest to strengthen the relationship with Washington, but from a broader perspective.

“I sincerely believe that a fundamental Marshall Plan must be made,” said the minister, referring to the initiative with which President Harry Truman’s administration sought to reactivate the economy of a Europe devastated by World War II.

“Let’s think differently (…) If we don’t land on the vision of what our wandering partner has to do, that we are not going to change it in any way, what we have is to get together and review,” he said. “We have to carry out great projects, that make this situation something enormous, because it is better for the United States to be a partner of a rich country than of a country of beggars”

His words echo positions from both wings of the Federal Senate, as evidenced by a previous intervention in the same room by Senators Ben Cardin, a Democrat, and Bill Hagerty, a Republican, who advocated boosting cooperation with Colombia.

Reliable strategic partner in the region

Both Cardin, from the liberal state of Maryland, and Hagerty, from the conservative Tennessee, agreed that in the corridors of Congress, in Washington, there is great confidence in the relationship with Bogotá due to a scaffolding of years of close work, and it is considered that the country led by Petro continues to be a strategic and highly reliable partner in the region.

“We have a very good and open discussion for the bilateral relationship, and the doors are open for talks, the economic challenges are significant, and they need to be addressed,” Hagerty said.

For his part, Senator Cardin opined that, in this new stage of the bilateral relationship with Colombia, “we have to think about broad issues because we need to complete regional efforts to combat drug trafficking, and economic security and opportunities are key.”

Both senators also endorsed the efforts of the government of Gustavo Petro to find solutions to the political crisis in Venezuela that continues to be “a challenge for Washington.”

Colombia aspires to “free elections” in Venezuela

In statements to the press, after the presentation, Foreign Minister Leyva reiterated that Colombia is interested in resolving the political crisis in Venezuela given the implications it has had for his country, in different areas such as migration or trade, among others.

“What there has to be first in Venezuela are guarantees so that there are fair and free elections under equal circumstances, naturally some things have to be woven,” said the head of Colombian diplomacy.

In his opinion, there are complex situations at the internal level that have impeded progress between the opposing sides “and there are also high expectations outside, some people from the opposition live in Venezuela, so it is about harmonizing, uniting the rules of the game,” he said.

The foreign minister also insisted that Colombia’s commitment to bring together a group of 20 countries to push this negotiated path is an opportunity that cannot be wasted and that coincides with the interests of the United States.

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