The US Secretary of State Antony Blinkenbegins this Monday, October 3, a Latin American tour to bring positions closer with Colombia, Chile and Peru, given the turn to the left of their governments, the migration crisis and the growing influence of China in the region.
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The leader of US diplomacy will hold high-level meetings with the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, in Bogotá; with the Chilean, Gabriel Boric, in Santiago, and with the Peruvian, Pedro Castillo, in Lima, where he also will participate in the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Accompanied by Juan González, President Joe Biden’s main adviser for Latin America, Blinken will try to overcome the ideological differences with those leaders to explore areas of cooperation in migratory matters and the fight against drug trafficking.
The trip also starts a day after the key elections this Sunday in Brazil, where an eventual victory of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would consummate the shift to the left in the region. In a call with journalists, the person in charge of Latin America at the State Department, Brian Nichols, said that the rapprochement with these three governments is not related to his ideological position.
“We do not judge countries based on their position on the political spectrum, but based on their commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights“, he pointed.
Three countries, three presidents
President Gustavo Petro, at the UN.
AFP
The first stop on the tour will be in Colombia, which has historically been a great ally of the United States in the area. Washington is closely watching the recent rise to power of Petro and his outright opposition to the drug war sponsored by the United States for decades.
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Blinken will propose a “comprehensive strategy” to curb drug trafficking that emphasizes alternatives for farmers growing illicit crops and defending the environment. Colombia’s rapprochement with Venezuela, whose governments have just restore diplomatic relations, It will also be on the Secretary of State’s agenda during his visit to Bogotá.
Washington wants Petro to mediate so that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro resumes the dialogue with the opposition that was interrupted last year. In the midst of the energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine, the United States has promised to ease sanctions on the oil country if the Maduro government sits down with the opponents.
On Wednesday, Blinken will visit Santiago to meet with Boric, a month after the referendum in which a overwhelming majority of Chileans rejected the draft of the new Constitutionn. Boric, who took office in March, has insisted that the United States treat Latin American countries as equal partners and not subordinates.
However, he has also been critical of human rights violations in countries like Venezuela or Nicaragua, a position that brings him closer to Washington. On Thursday, Blinken will meet with Castillo in Lima, in the midst of the unstable political situation Peru, where the Public Ministry is investigating the president for allegedly leading a corrupt plot, among other causes.
Drug trafficking will also be an issue to be addressed at that meeting, since the United States has pressured Peru to recover the levels of eradication of coca crops prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
The migration crisis on the agenda
But if there is one issue that the leader of US diplomacy will deal with in all his meetings, it is the migration crisis on the continent, which has derived in record numbers of arrivals of undocumented immigrants to the United States. Washington wants all transit countries to make efforts to welcome the migrants so that the pressure on the US border is reduced.
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Blinken will visit a migration station in Colombia to demonstrate his support for the temporary status for Venezuelan migrants, a policy that he considers an example for the rest of the countries. Likewise, during the OAS General Assembly in Lima and in a parallel ministerial meeting on migration, it will follow up on the implementation of the Declaration of Los Angeles in which twenty countries committed themselves to curbing migratory flows.
With his participation in the OAS Assembly, Blinken will also try to stage his country’s commitment to this organization, weakened by internal friction since the Bolivian crisis of 2019. In the call with journalists, Undersecretary Nichols refuted criticism that the Biden government would be neglecting its relationship with Latin America while those countries increase their cooperation with China.
“Never before have we had such a strong relationship with the region. We have redoubled efforts and assistance to help countries deal with migration problems by providing hundreds of millions of dollars“, he exemplified.
EFE
