Trump's State nominee raises doubts on Colombia peace pact
Source: Associated Press
Trump's State nominee raises doubts on Colombia peace pact
Joshua Goodman, Associated Press Writer Updated 3:15 pm, Sunday, January 22, 2017
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) President Donald Trump's secretary of state nominee said he would review Colombia's recent peace agreement to determine how much the U.S. should continue to support a historic deal that had been enthusiastically backed by the Obama administration.
Rex Tillerson's comments came in a written response to questions that members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee sent to him as part of the confirmation process.
As the staunchest U.S. ally in Latin America, Colombia has received billions of dollars in U.S. aid over the past two decades to combat drug trafficking and leftist rebels who fund their insurgency from it. The Obama administration was a key backer of President Juan Manuel Santos' efforts to end the half-century conflict by appointing a special envoy to the talks and promising $450 million more in U.S. aid to make sure the peace agreement signed last year holds.
Tillerson, while recognizing Colombia's importance as an ally and the success of past U.S.-Colombia cooperation, was ambiguous about the road ahead. While the remarks have not yet been made public, Tillerson's answers were first published by Latin America Goes Global, a website tracking U.S. policy toward the region. They were confirmed by a Senate aide who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to share them with journalists.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Trump-State-nominee-raises-doubts-on-Colombia-10875407.php
bucolic_frolic
(43,364 posts)The Exxon-Mobil guy is going to review the settlement of a foreign
country with its internal disputes over land, mining, mineral, oil
Dripping with ethical problems
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)we have none of that shit in the New and Improved United States of Exon
Judi Lynn
(160,647 posts)France's President in Colombia to show support for peace
Updated 11:17 am, Monday, January 23, 2017
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) French President Francois Hollande is in Colombia's capital as part of a two-day tour and he's expressing his support for a peace deal to end the country's half-century conflict.
It's the first visit to the South American nation by a French head of state in 28 years.
Hollande was received with honors Monday by President Juan Manuel Santos. He is expected to travel Tuesday to a rural zone where guerrillas belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are preparing to turn over their weapons to United Nations-backed observers as part of a historic peace deal.
France is a major supporter of the peace deal as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and through donations to rebuild war -orn communities being channeled through the European Union.
http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/France-s-President-in-Colombia-to-show-support-10877110.php
(Short article, no more at link.)