Semana - USA and Colombia: Time to Protect the Relationship

Op-Ed

By Marco Rubio

Last week, a car bomb shook a military base in Cúcuta, injuring 36 people and putting the lives of US and Colombian soldiers at risk. Fortunately, although no one was killed, this attack marks another troubling incident in a period of instability in one of our most important regional allies. This act of violence is the latest orchestrated attempt to undermine President Iván Duque and his cabinet.

Although some of the protests by citizens were in a peaceful way to express their grievances, the demonstrations were quickly infiltrated by leftist groups and foreign intruders, trying to sow division and instability. No one should be fooled. Many of those wreaking havoc today are not doing so to protest peacefully, but to delegitimize the Duque government and aggravate the bipartisan relationship between the United States and Colombia.

In key centers of violence like Cali, we have seen reports confirming that members of the ELN, a foreign terrorist organization designated by the US State Department, infiltrated the protests. They are joined by dissident FARC forces, along with individuals linked to the Maduro and Díaz-Canel regimes to seize the occasion and instigate the flames of violence. Although we must await the outcome of a formal investigation, last week's car bomb in Cúcuta is indicative of previous similar actions by these undemocratic guerrilla groups.

As US legislators, we must not allow the unrest in Colombia to damage our relationship with your government. Too many lawmakers have relented on their stance toward Colombia in recent months, with members of the US political left seeking to cut foreign aid to Colombia. A few weeks ago, the leader of the Marxist and pro-Chavista group Code Pink - who in 2019 was invited by the narco-dictator Nicolás Maduro to invade and occupy the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC - was present at the protests against Duque in the state capital. United. The henchmen of the Maduro and Díaz-Canel regimes are eager to sabotage the Colombian government. We must never allow these groups to get away with it.

Now, more than ever, the United States must support its great ally. The blockades throughout Colombia, as a result of the protests, have created a series of devastating consequences for the country: shortages of food and gasoline, delays in the deliveries of vaccines against covid-19, damage to private companies and impacts on small companies. companies of Colombian businessmen abroad after the increase in vandalism throughout the country.

The United States can begin by offering support and deepening diplomatic ties with our friends in Bogotá. The United States must remain committed to helping the Colombian government dismantle criminal organizations, as well as combat the threat of the ELN, FARC dissidents, and other criminal gangs that operate illegally in the region - particularly those that destabilize the border between Colombia. and Venezuela-.

Cooperation between the United States and Colombia and the security of the Colombian people must continue to transcend party affiliation and ideology in the United States. Next year will mark 200 years of bilateral relations with Colombia, which demonstrates the strength and longevity of our ties. We must also recognize Colombia's important achievements in recent years, becoming the first NATO partner in Latin America and its promotion to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The ties between our nations are based on democratic values, as well as a mutual interest in promoting the stability and economic growth of our neighbors in the region. The United States and the Duque government have a common interest in defending human rights, democracy, and peace in the region.

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