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Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel next week to South America, where he will meet with the Colombian president, former guerrilla Gustavo Petro, in Bogotá; with the Chilean socialist, Gabriel Boric, in Santiago, and with the Peruvian, Pedro Castillo, in Lima.
The tour includes his participation in the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), to be held from October 5 to 7 in the Peruvian capital.
The first country to be visited by the leader of U.S. diplomacy will be Colombia, on October 3 and 4, where he will meet with Petro in addition to the Vice President, Francia Marquez, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alvaro Leyva.
State Department spokesman Ned Price explained in a statement that Blinken will discuss with Colombian authorities the implementation of a comprehensive approach to combat drug trafficking and mitigate its impacts on health, security, and the environment.
He will also offer his “collaboration” for the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords and his support for the temporary protection status for Venezuelan migrants arriving in Colombia, a policy he considers “a model for the region.”
On October 5, Blinken will be in Santiago, Chile, where he will meet with Boric and Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola, with whom he will address issues of investment, regional security, human rights, immigration, and the climate crisis.
The U.S. foreign minister will also visit Chile’s National Electric Coordinator (CEN), where U.S. companies are involved, and will meet with alumni of the Young Leaders of the Americas, a U.S.-sponsored initiative.
His South American tour will end in Lima on October 6-7, where he will lead his country’s delegation to the OAS General Assembly and will follow up on the implementation of the declaration approved at the Summit of the Americas last June in Los Angeles (USA) to curb the regional migration crisis.
In the Peruvian capital, Blinken will meet with Castillo and Peruvian Foreign Minister César Landa to discuss issues such as regional security, democracy, environmental protection and inclusive development.
