Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday that US authorities “have to return” his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who was hijacked and taken to New York City earlier this month.
At a public event in the capital Bogota, Petro said that “they have to return [Maduro] and have him tried by a Venezuelan court, not a US court.”
Petro made the comment only days before his February 3 meeting with his US counterpart Donald Trump in Washington DC.
Diplomats from both countries have been preparing this meeting, which is meant to improve bilateral relations that sunk to a new low after the US invasion of Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president.
Since Trump took office, the US government has cut all aid to Colombia and has threatened to carry out air strikes against targets accused of drug trafficking inside Colombian territory.
The meeting between the two heads of state will seek to “reestablish a constructive and cordial dialogue on an equal footing and at the highest level” to make sure that Washington “will continue to be an important partner for Colombia,” Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio said earlier this month.
What Colombia hopes to achieve now ties with US are being restored
Bogota additionally has been trying to provide Trump with “verified and evidence-based information on the successful actions taken by the Colombian Government to combat the drug problem,” and resume joint counternarcotics efforts.
The Colombian government additionally would seek to convince the US president and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to lift sanctions that were slapped on Petro, several of his family members and Interior Minister Armando Benedetti.
These sanctions have significantly complicated the Colombian government’s participation in summits abroad.
Until last year, Colombia was one of the United States’ most loyal allies in South America.
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