The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, will begin a Latin American tour this Monday to bring positions closer to 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.
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 will also participate in the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).
Accompanied by Juan González, the main adviser for Latin America to President Joe Biden, Blinken will try to overcome the ideological differences with those leaders to explore areas of cooperation in immigration and the fight against drug trafficking.
The trip also starts a day after the key elections this Sunday in Brazil, where a possible 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 it is not related to their ideological position.
“We do not judge countries based on their position on the political spectrum, but based on its commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights”, he pointed out.
Three countries, three presidents
The first stop of the tour will be in Colombia, which historically had been the great ally of the United States in the area .
Washington is closely watching Petro’s recent rise to power and his outright opposition to the decades-long US-sponsored drug war.
Blinken le will propose a “comprehensive strategy” to curb drug trafficking that emphasizes alternatives for farmers growing illicit crops and the defense of the environment.
Colombia’s rapprochement with Venezuela, whose governments have just re-established diplomatic relations, will also be on the Secretary of State’s agenda in his visit to Bogotá.
Washington wants Petro to mediate so that the president sees Venezuelan, Nicolás Maduro, resumes the dialogue with the opposition 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 Government of Maduro sits with the opponents.
On Wednesday, Blinken will visit Santiago to meet with Boric, a month after the referendum in which an overwhelming majority of Chileans rejected the draft of the new Constitution.
Boric, who took office in March, has insisted that the United States should treat Latin American countries as equal partners and not as subordinates.
However, it has also been critical of human rights violations in countries such as Venezuela or Nicaragua, a position that brings it closer to Washington.
On Thursday, Blinken will meet with Castillo in Lima, in the midst of the unstable political situation in Peru, d 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 levels of eradication of coca crops prior to the covid pandemic-21.
The migratory 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 crisis migration from the continent, which has led to record numbers of undocumented arrivals in the United States.
Washington wants all transit countries to make efforts to welcome migrants, so as to reduce pressure on the US border.
Blinken will visit a migration station in Colombia to show his support for the temporary status for Venezuelan migrants, a policy that it considers an example for the rest of the countries.
Furthermore, during the General Assembly of the OAS 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 some twenty countries pledged to curb 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 crisis in Bolivia of 2019.
In the call with reporters, Deputy Secretary Nichols refuted criticism that the Biden administration it 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.
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