President Gustavo Petro addressed Colombians residing in New York on Sunday as part of his visit to the United States to attend the 78th UN General Assembly.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is in the United States to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly, reiterated to the Colombian community living in New York on Sunday that his government remains committed to “building peace.” to put an end to “an era of peace and violence.”
At the meeting, held at the Services Fair in Queens, New York, he admitted that Colombians continued to sink “into the drain of violence” because they had failed to form a “pact” as a nation and ” “We kill everyone.” “others.” themselves.”
“We have made building peace one of the government’s guiding principles (…),” he said.
“We called it total peace and tried to explain that we must move from one era to another, that we must somehow find the mechanisms to finally close the door on an era of violence and move on to an era of peace to build up,” the leader added.
President Gustavo Petro met with the Colombian community in New York on Sunday, September 17, 2023.
In his speech, he blamed “social inequality” for the violence and reiterated that democratic reforms were the way to narrow the gap between rich and poor, rather than impoverish the rich.
“Sometimes we are criticized because we believe that this is what we want (…) No, it is not about impoverishing (the richest), but about enriching the poor, which is another way . “It’s about closing these distances, not knocking those who are at the top in their wealth, but rising in social progress for those who are at the bottom,” he said to applause from the crowd watching him accompanied.
Petro arrives in New York after visiting Chile, where he attended official events 50 years after the 1973 military coup, and Cuba, where he attended the G77 and China summits.
The Colombian president ended his first year in office in August The country is trying to push ahead with its comprehensive reform plan, but a “complex” context involving scandals and ministerial crises has not allowed it to move forward, experts say.
Petro also spoke to the Colombian diaspora about the irregular migration of Venezuelan, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Haitian, Afghan, Indian and Chinese nationals through the country.
“The Darien Gap became the nerve center of the human exodus. There are several, but this is one,” he said.
Petro, in turn, said that the issue of migration “must be debated throughout Latin America” with the participation of “the political power of the United States in all its variants.”
“We will not stop immigration with the whip, the horse and the dog,” he added, asking the Colombian community living in the United States to help.
For example, he listed the need for “Colombianism” established in the United States to gain rights: “the right to citizenship.”
In November 2022, Colombia called on the United States to grant Colombians staying irregularly in the country Deferred Forced Departure status, which would allow them to work and even travel to their home country.
A total of 967,500 people received U.S. citizenship in fiscal year 2022. Many of them were Latino, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) figures released in July.
Among the five countries of birth with the highest naturalization rates, Mexico ranks first with 13.3% of new citizens, and Cuba and the Dominican Republic rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with more than 8% of naturalized citizens.
Venezuela in Petro’s speech in New York
Petro, who distanced himself from his predecessor Iván Duque on the Venezuela issue and addressed the government of Nicolás Maduro, said on Sunday that migration from that country, which is in a political and humanitarian crisis, would decline if they would lift the blockade of the South American country. . It appeared to be a reference to international sanctions imposed by countries in Europe and the United States to promote democratic changes in the country.
“When there is prosperity there (in Latin American countries), not so many (migrants) come here. If they lift the blockade there, and I would have to speak on behalf of Venezuela, if they lift the blockade of Venezuela, people will not come through the Darién Gap,” he said, then recalled that 90% of those who get through going into the dangerous jungle are Venezuelans.
“Unlock this country, allow the medicines to arrive, allow the food to arrive,” he added.
Despite the sanctions, at the end of August the USA allowed the oil companies Eni from Italy and Repsol from Spain to send a ship with 260,000 barrels of gasoline to the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA.
And although it is the first time since the imposition of US economic sanctions on its oil industry that Venezuela has received fuel from transnational companies still operating on its territory, the United States has reiterated that it is ready to ease these sanctions, when the government of Nicolás Maduro calls “steps” to re-democratize Venezuela.
Juan González, special adviser to US President Joe Biden, said in July that his administration’s “incentives” for Venezuela were aimed at strengthening negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition to find a solution to the crisis. González added that if there is no concrete progress, the window of opportunity for talks and dialogue “will close at some point.”
Maduro also called for the sanctions to be lifted. However, negotiations between the Maduro government and the opposition in Mexico have not resumed since November last year. The administration says it is waiting for the U.S. to approve the injection of money into a social welfare fund agreed 10 months ago, one of the few formal agreements in these dialogues.
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