WASHINGTON- The elected vice president of Colombia, José Manuel Restrepo, affirmed this Tuesday that the incoming government will seek to work with the United States to promote a democratic transition in Venezuela, during an official visit to Washington in which he held meetings with US authorities and international financial organizations.
“We are here to provide economic security and national security, to strengthen them in our country and contribute to consolidating them also in the United States. To see Colombia as a strategic partner, as a platform for democratization in Venezuela,” Restrepo declared during a forum organized by the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in the US capital.
The vice president-elect added that an eventual transition would open new opportunities for energy cooperation between both countries.
“And imagine the possibilities we could also have to import gas from Venezuela in a different way,” he said.
Change of course in the relationship with Venezuela
The arrival of the elected president Abelardo de la Espriella to power anticipates a change in Colombia’s foreign policy regarding Venezuela, after the mandate of the leftist Gustavo Petro.
De la Espriella, who will assume the Presidency on August 7, has expressed his closeness to the administration of President Donald Trump and has expressed his intention to strengthen cooperation with Washington on security, economic and regional policy issues.
During the Petro government, Bogotá reestablished diplomatic relations with the regime of the now deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro and promoted an agenda of rapprochement with Caracas.
Agenda in Washington
Restrepo traveled to the United States accompanied by several members of the future cabinet, including the next foreign minister, Omar Bula, a diplomat with more than two decades of experience in international organizations and the United Nations (UN).
Bula announced that the new government will review Colombia’s participation in different multilateral organizations.
“We will review our relationships with other agencies and with multilateral organizations because we have the objective of cutting costs, but also of rationalizing our relationships and being less dependent on the decisions made by multilateral organizations,” he explained.
The Colombian delegation held meetings with representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A meeting with the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, is also scheduled for this Wednesday.
A transition marked by political tension
The outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, has not formally recognized the electoral victory of the conservative leader, while De la Espriella has indicated that he is willing to take office in a military installation if the conditions do not exist to carry out the investiture ceremony in Congress, as established by Colombian legislation.
