President Juan Manuel Santos is traveling Thursday morning to Buenos Aires to attend the funeral of former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner.
Santos declared three days of national mourning in Colombia in memory of Kirchner. The former president, 60, who remained highly influential in Argentina as husband of the current President Cristina Fernandez, died suddenly Wednesday morning of a heart attack.
Kirchner had tried to mediate Colombia’s relationship with Venezuela as secretary general of regional body UNASUR.
“Former President Kirchner was a person that contributed much to the relations we have today,” Santos said Wednesday. “Recently I had the opportunity to strike up a good friendship with him. He was always ready to do his bit to improve our relations with the whole region.”
A press release from Colombian presidential palace, the Casa de Nariño, said Santos will meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on November 2 at Palacio de Miraflores in Caracas.