My frustration is not having seen the fall of the Maduro dictatorship

Publisher’s note: Watch Camilo Egaña’s full interview with Iván Duque on Wednesday, September 7 at 9:00 pm (Miami time) 8:00 pm (Bogotá time) on en Español.

( Spanish) — Iván Duque assures that he does not think about failures, on the contrary, he says that he is a persevering person. The now former president of Colombia grants his first interview since he left the Casa de Nariño, exactly one month ago, on August 7. Duque spoke with Camilo Egaña from en Español and mentioned the satisfaction of, according to him, having fulfilled more than 80% of the development plan that he proposed and more than 90% of a government plan.

But he also spoke of “great frustration.”

“I have a great frustration and that is not having seen the fall of the dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela during my term,” said Duque.

During his administration, marked by the battle against the covid-19 pandemic, foreign policy focused on the fight against the Nicolás Maduro regime in the neighboring country. “I confronted that bandit,” Duque emphasizes, before claiming that it was he who reported him to the International Criminal Court.

“We participate with many nations in that diplomatic fence. And, of course, although I have that frustration of not having seen it fall in my four years, I am also clear that defense, democracy does not end with the Presidency, “added Duque.

“Tension is preferable to the surrender of our territory”

The former president referred to what he considers to be another dictatorship, that of Daniel Ortega, in the context of the maritime dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua that dates back long before he took office as the Uribe president in 2018.

“A century of tensions is preferable to ceding Colombian territory to the Daniel Ortega dictatorship,” said Duque, noting that Colombia “can only modify its limits through a treaty that is ratified by the Congress of the Republic of Colombia.” .

It is worth mentioning that the International Criminal Court of Justice ruled in April this year that Colombia must “immediately cease” patrolling and attempting to control fishing activities and maritime investigation in parts of the Western Caribbean that, according to the Court, are part of of the exclusive economic zone of Nicaragua, as reported by Reuters.

Despite this, Duque’s position remains firm in this regard: “Colombia cannot be its sovereignty, much less a dictatorship that with infamies, with opprobrium, is subjecting an entire people. We make our sovereignty respected and tension is preferable to surrendering our territory”.