U.S. calls alliance with Colombia “absolutely vital”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Friday, May 28, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, received in Washington the Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez, to “deepen” the alliance between both countries, which he described as “absolutely vital”.

At the beginning of the meeting, Blinken considered it as an opportunity to deepen the bilateral collaboration and highlighted the common work in different areas, according to a State Department press release.

Ramirez stressed, for her part, the long history between the two countries, “working together for the values we share: democracy, development and job creation,” he said.

“We have many challenges in common, and for Colombia, it has been the most important relationship,” said Ramirez, who added that the “commitment” to increase opportunities for Colombians and Americans must be maintained.

Ramírez has been visiting the United States since last Friday, while the government of Colombian President Iván Duque is facing protests that have been going on for a month.

During her tour, which began in New York, Ramirez has met with members of Congress, members of think tanks and representatives of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, among others.

This Friday, one month into the mobilizations in Colombia, the campaign ‘Defending Freedom: a matter for all’, a network of civil, student, and human rights organizations that monitors the demonstrations, denounced that at least 59 people have died in the protests.

The spokesman of the network, Óscar Ramírez, pointed out that “the improper use of weapons” by the public forces “has left about 866 people injured, 51 of these due to eye injuries and 70 were injured by firearms.”

According to official figures from the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Defense, 43 people have been killed in the month of protests. However, only 17 civilian victims and 2 uniformed personnel have a direct link with the demonstrations, according to the government.