U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday wrapped up a tour of 4 South American nations — three of them neighbours of Venezuela, whose socialist authorities is beneath intense U.S. stress.
After a gathering with Colombian President Ivan Duque on Saturday, the 2 vowed to deepen ties — together with U.S. funding within the nation’s struggling financial system — and Pompeo praised Colombia’s robust stance in opposition to Venezuelan chief Nicolas Maduro.
Pompeo mentioned Colombia’s backing of opposition chief Juan Guaido “and the democratic transition for a sovereign Venezuela freed from malign affect from Cuba, from Russia, from Iran, is extremely valued.
“You’re a true chief for the area and the dignity of all of its folks,” he mentioned at a information convention.
Pompeo’s three-day journey to the area comes because the U.S. presidential election nears, with Florida — which has hosted an increasing Venezuelan diaspora — a key battleground.
Duque highlighted a report by the U.N.’s prime human rights physique accusing Maduro’s authorities of crimes in opposition to humanity, together with torture and killings carried by safety forces.
“The scenario there’s unsustainable,” he mentioned.
Shoring up help for the Trump administration’s Venezuela coverage was a key focus of the journey, which together with stops in Guyana and Brazil, the place he emphasised U.S. requires a presidential election to exchange Maduro. He additionally stopped in Suriname, like Guyana a budding oil exporter.
Colombia has been flooded with migrants fleeing Venezuela’s rising financial disaster whereas accusing its neighbour of backing armed teams on Colombian soil.
The COVID-19 pandemic, in the meantime, has left tens of millions in Colombia out of labor, with unemployment lately hovering to 20 per cent throughout the nation’s lengthy lockdown. Although virus instances have been initially gradual to rise, Colombia now has the world’s sixth highest complete quantity caseload.
Duque mentioned he’s hoping to draw extra U.S. funding to Colombia and he hailed a U.S. authorities initiative geared toward enhancing non-public sector funding in infrastructure.
© 2020 The Canadian Press
