Democrats in the United States Congress have spoken out in open opposition to a bill tabled last week which, among other things, “postpones” all aid to Colombia corresponding to the year 2024.

According to Mario Diaz-Balart, a Cuban-American lawmaker from Florida who is the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, the freeze on aid to Colombia stems from the enormous concerns it raises for both him and his fellow Republicans the measures that the government of Gustavo Petro has taken since its arrival at the Casa de Nariño.

“Unfortunately,” he said. Colombia’s current trajectory under President Petro is increasingly at odds with US economic and security interests. Therefore, I have decided to postpone funding for Colombia. Because of the strong and historic relationship between the peoples of the United States and Colombia, as well as the Colombian armed forces and police, the Committee will continue to assess the actions of the Petro government as this process of ownership progresses. . I sincerely hope that more favorable actions in the future will allow us to move forward in strengthening our long-standing partnership with Colombia,” the legislator said during the presentation of the law.

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Although not speaking directly to Colombia, Democrats on that same committee rejected the bill, alleging that It is partisan and regressive legislation that hits allied countries and undermines the work of multilateral organizations, like the UN and the World Health Organization which would also suffer cuts.

Likewise, it eliminates resources to fight climate change, to defend women and their reproductive rights and to help other countries curb illegal immigration.

“I strongly believe in the importance of helping people, fighting inequality and injustice and tackling the problems facing our country by working in collaboration with others and for the purpose of peace and global security. This is why, I find this project that we are examining today extremely worrying, because it runs counter to these objectives“said the most senior Democrat on this committee, Barbara Lee.

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This bill, Lee continued, “ignores these realities. It sees the world as a paradigm of black and white, good and bad. If we don’t like everything about an organization or can’t control its actions , this bill prohibits funding me, this is not the approach the Chinese government is taking…and it would have serious implications for American leadership, our ability to work with other countries on common challenges and our long-term national security.”

Rosa DeLauro, another Democrat on the Committee, also argued that It is an isolationist project that abandons the leadership role that the United States has played since World War II.

In the case of our country It is the first time since the approval of Plan Colombia in 2000 that such a radical decision has been taken such as deferring all resources for the time being.

This project, in any case, is only the beginning of the appropriations process in the United States Congress.

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The project will have to be discussed by the Appropriations Committee in plenary session and then, if approved, it will go to the plenary session of the House of Representatives. At the same time, the Senate — which is controlled by Democrats — will push forward its own allocation process.

Once the two agreements are approved, a conciliation commission would be appointed to iron out differences. In other words, the funds for Colombia could be restored by the Senate or in the necessary phases in the House of Representatives.

But without a doubt, it is a strong signal to the government of President Petro that suggests that the bipartisanship that existed in Washington vis-à-vis Colombia began to fade.

SERGIO GOMEZ MASERI

EL Tiempo correspondent

Washington

On Twitter: @sergom68