The Vice President of Colombia, France Marquezrequested this Thursday that Cuba be removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, during the inauguration of the Havana International Book Fair.
Márquez, who heads the Colombian delegation to the event in which his country is the guest of honor, gave the opening speech and highlighted the contribution of the island “in which Colombia advances in finding total peace,” according to the agency. efe.
I could not begin my visit to Havana without coming to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, the place where the ethnic chapter of the peace talks in Colombia was conceived. Here we meet with the Afro-Cuban movement and various social organizations in the Cuban capital. pic.twitter.com/1h5MW9b4sF
– Francia Márquez Mina (@FranciaMarquezM) February 9, 2023
“From here we say that a country that bets on peace cannot be a country (to) that is placed on a war list,” said Márquez.
In the same sense, the Colombian vice president asked the United States government to eliminate the economic embargo imposed on the island for six decades.
Cuba was left out of the aforementioned list, which is updated annually by the US, during the rapprochement stage promoted by President Barack Obama (2009-2017), but was included again in 2020, under the Donald Trump Administration (2017-2021).
Márquez recalled the role played by the Caribbean country as the venue for the peace talks between the Colombian State and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in which she participated as part of the group of victims.
These talks ended in 2016 with the signing of a peace agreement in Havana between the then Colombian president, Manuel Santos, and the FARC leader, Rodrigo Londoño, who promoted the demobilization of the guerrillas for their entry into political life forming a new party.
“Today I cannot stop thanking the island, its leaders and its people for having been the common home for this process and (…) their interest in peace in our country,” added Márquez, who arrived in the capital this Thursday. Cuban for an official visit that will culminate next Saturday.
The Minister of Culture, Patricia Ariza, also traveled as part of the delegation, who was present at the inauguration of the Fair, in which 25 writers from the South American nation will be present, according to a statement issued by the Vice Presidency, highlights efe.
Among the tasks of Vice President Márquez is to lead the Africa-Caribbean strategy to “build political, diplomatic, cultural and economic bridges with African countries and also with the insular region of the American continent,” added the press release.
In this regard, during his speech at the opening of the fair, the second Colombian political figure stressed that Cuba can be a “bridge” with Africa and with the rest of the “global south” to lead the fight against climate change.
It is expected that this Friday Márquez, who was already received by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, will continue his activities on the island, in a meeting with different ambassadors from Africa and the Caribbean, according to Cuban authorities.
Efe/OnCuba.
