Washington DC –
The United States will name Colombia a “partner” outside NATO, President Joe Biden will name Thursday in a meeting with Colombia’s counterpart, Iván Duque, at the White House.
Colombia will be the third in Latin America to receive this designation from the US, which allows it to obtain material and military cooperation from the US. “It is a recognition of the unique and close relationship between our nations,” said President Biden in a meeting with the Colombian delegation in Washington DC
For his part, Duque thanked Biden for the way and for sure, that it was a “recognition of values and principles” by the governments of the community. In a famous meeting, the leaders met for the first time since the Americans took office in January of last year, and it takes place less than six months after the Colombian office leaves.
The US president also announced in his meeting with Duque that he plans to sign a regional declaration on migration issues in the United States in June in Los Angeles.
The declaration will include more aid “for countries like Colombia, which host a large percentage of migrants” and ways to transport and other “legal ways” to migrate, the president said.
Colombia is the country that has received the most Venezuelan migrants in the world, with more than 1.8 million people according to UN figures.
The US visit to Venezuela does not change Colombia’s position
After the meeting with Biden, President Duque refused to answer questions from reporters about whether the two leaders of Venezuela addressed the issue. The US embassy traveled to Venezuela over the weekend, breaking years of diplomatic silence between the two countries.
“I will not answer for our State because I think the authorities of this country (…) for us the dictator is Nicolas Maduro”, Duque said when asked about what he spoke with President Biden about the trip of US officials to Caracas.
Duque added that both countries agree that the solution to the situation in Venezuela “is through a return to democracy.”
Reports in the media have announced that the US and Venezuela are lifting the possibility of lifting oil sanctions to bring crude oil from American soil to US refineries, due to the increase in oil prices due to the war in Ukraine. However, this point was rejected by the White House on Thursday.
Duque said on Monday, before meeting with Biden, that the US was “thinking” about the possibility of lifting sanctions on Venezuela.
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