The head of the United States Southern Command, generatel Laura Richardsonsaid Thursday during a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee that the military cooperation with Colombia continues to be strong and they have not noticed changes since the arrival of the president Gustavo Petro.
(Read here: Is Colombia losing its special status with the United States?)
This after the Democratic senator and former vice-presidential candidate, Tim Kaine, expressed some concern on this front after the leftist government came to power.
(See also: ‘Gustavo Petro’s anti-drug plan is not very realistic’: US expert)
“Colombia has been a strong military ally of the United States in recent years and it is a success story: they participate in peace operations and we do a lot of good work together. But there was some concern from last year after the elections about whether that would continue and I would like you to describe the military cooperation with them.Kaine asked Richards during the hearing.
The (military) relationship with Colombia is strong and continues to be strong, we have not canceled anything, all military exercises continue
And Richardson answered forcefully: “The (military) relationship with Colombia is strong and continues to be strong, we have not canceled anything, all the military exercises continue. Cooperation between our military is continuing and that relationship could not be stronger”the head of the Southern Command told him.
Kaine is the same Senator as this Wednesday, in the framework of another hearing, he said that there were questions about the direction of Colombia. This after the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, omitted to mention Colombia when he gave a list of countries in the region that are standing up for democracy.
Blinken spoke highly of Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Chile, but he did not refer to Colombia, the supposed great ally of the United States in the region. “It seemed to me a very notable exclusion,” the senator told this newspaper after leaving the audience.
In Kaine’s judgment, “It is not that the United States no longer thinks of Colombia as an allied country, but there are questions at this moment about its direction“.
SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Washington
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