3 months ago
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro has raised the stakes up of his upcoming White House gathering with US President Donald Trump, saying the talks could assistance “stop a satellite war” arsenic subject unit mounts crossed South America.Speaking to CBS News, the left-wing person said helium welcomed the invitation to Washington and hoped continued dialog would forestall the portion from sliding into conflict. Asked straight astir his extremity for the meeting, Petro replied: “To halt a satellite war.”
Extended interview: Colombian President Gustavo Petro (in Spanish)
Petro said his concerns were rooted successful what helium described arsenic increasing militarisation successful the region, peculiarly pursuing US enactment successful Venezuela. He pointed to images of helicopters and missiles and warned that Colombia, which lacks an aerial defence system, would beryllium dangerously exposed if tensions escalated further.“I’m not going to accidental that I’m not afraid,” Petro said. He warned that immoderate onslaught connected Colombia’s enactment would astir surely trigger civilian warfare and substance hostility towards the United States. “That would without a uncertainty origin a civilian war, and besides a hostility toward the United States that the United States does not deserve. It would beryllium dumb policy,” helium told CBS.The comments travel arsenic Washington sharpens its posture successful Latin America aft the US cognition that removed Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has since signalled an assertive attack towards drug trafficking networks, portion besides moving rapidly to asseverate power implicit Venezuela’s lipid exports and revive accumulation done US-backed investment.
Petro has sought to framework practice arsenic the alternate to confrontation. On Friday, helium urged Venezuela to articulation Colombia successful warring drug-trafficking groups operating on their shared 2,200-kilometre border. Writing connected X, Petro said helium had invited Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez to enactment jointly to guarantee cause gangs were “defeated by our nations successful unity”.That entreaty followed a telephone telephone earlier this week successful which Petro and Trump agreed to instrumentality “joint action” against cocaine-smuggling guerrillas on the Colombia–Venezuela frontier. Colombian officials accidental Petro asked Trump to assistance “strike hard” astatine the National Liberation Army, the country’s past large rebel group, which is believed to support rear bases wrong Venezuela.Trump said that Petro is expected to sojourn the White House successful aboriginal February.
