The decision made by the administration of the outgoing president of EE. Donald Trump’s reinstatement of Cuba to the list of states sponsoring terrorism triggered a political pulse in Colombia, which has even led some sectors to begin calling for the government of Ivan Duc make “substantive decisions” in the face of relations with the island.
A few days before Trump leaves the White House, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the decision he can potentially complicating the chances of incoming President Joe Biden quickly resuming rapprochement with Havana.
This fact triggered a whole pulse in Colombia. While the opposition supported Cuba and called on the Duke government to resume negotiations with the ELN, the Democratic Center bench assured in a letter sent to the head of state that “this proves, once moreover, that the Castro regime favors and harbors terrorists. ”
(See also: What did a group of congressmen ask Duke about the Eln?)
Uribismo congressmen called for “a careful review, and substantive decisions, regarding relations with the Cuban regime led today by Miguel Díaz-Canel.”
However, one of the most vehement pronouncements came from former government peace negotiators in Havana Humberto de la Calle and Sergio Jaramillo not only defended the role of Cuba but argued that without the commitment and contribution of that country “there would have been no peace agreement in Colombia.”
“As representatives of the Colombian government, with all the differences we may have with the Cuban regime, we are obliged to recognize and thank the generous spirit and professionalism that Cuba has deployed in favor of the peace of Colombia, “the former peace negotiators said in a statement released on Friday.
We are obliged to acknowledge and thank the generous spirit and professionalism that Cuba has shown in favor of peace.
In the text, De la Calle and Jaramillo add that “it is then nonsense and an act of state ingratitude unparalleled with the Republic of Cuba that, in the framework of similar negotiations with the ELN, the government of Iván Duc has demanded the surrender to the Colombian authorities of the members of this delegation, against the protocols signed by the Colombian government and international guarantors, which demand that the ELN negotiators return to their places of origin in the event of a breakdown in talks. ” .
For former members of the government’s negotiating team in Cuba, the Democratic Center’s bench request to “thoroughly review” relations with the island has “inconsistent features.”
“Now the Democratic Center, the ruling party, is inconsistently calling for ‘decisions to be taken’ against Cuba, forgetting that its leader Álvaro Uribe as president of Colombia asked Cuba to receive a delegation from the ELN for start exploratory peace talks.Between 2005 and 2007, there were eight rounds of unsuccessful negotiations in Havana between the Uribe government and the ELN, “says one of the communiqués.
“What is at stake then is not only peace with the ELN or the United States’ relations with Cuba, but the very possibility of holding peace negotiations,” De la Calle and Jaramillo added.
See here the statement of Humberto del Carrer and Sergio Jaramillo
POLITICS