Page 9 - aruba-today-20170123

A9
WORLD NEWS Monday 23 January 2017

Trump’s State nominee raises

doubts on Colombia peace pact

JOSHUA GOODMAN But he said he plans to hold administration’s call for
Associated Press Writer Colombia to its commit- dialogue and for President
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — ment to rein in drug pro- Nicolas Maduro to release
President Donald Trump’s duction amid a surge in all political prisoners.q
secretary of state nomi- cocaine flowing from the
nee said he would review country that many critics
Colombia’s recent peace attribute to Santos’ deci- Rex Tillerson, President-elect
agreement to determine sion in 2015 to suspend U.S.- Donald Trump’s choice for
how much the U.S. should backed aerial fumigation Secretary of State, attends
the presidential inaugural
continue to support a his- of illegal coca crops. Chairman’s Global Dinner,
toric deal that had been “I would also seek to review Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, in
enthusiastically backed by the details of Colombia’s Washington.
the Obama administration. recent peace agreement, Associated Press
Rex Tillerson’s comments and determine the extent
came in a written response to which the United States
to questions that members should continue to support
of the Senate Foreign Re- it,” he added.
lations Committee sent to Chris Sabatini, editor of
him as part of the confirma- Latin America Goes Glob-
tion process. al, said Tillerson’s seeming
As the staunchest U.S. ally doubts about the peace
in Latin America, Colombia deal reflect a growing
has received billions of dol- skepticism within Republi-
lars in U.S. aid over the past can circles that have been
two decades to combat stoked by conservative for-
drug trafficking and leftist mer President Alvaro Uribe.
rebels who fund their insur- Uribe led the campaign
gency from it. The Obama that defeated the original
administration was a key peace deal in a referen-
backer of President Juan dum only to see Santos go
Manuel Santos’ efforts to ahead and ratify a revised
end the half-century con- accord a few weeks later.
flict by appointing a spe- “Across-the-aisle consensus
cial envoy to the talks and on Plan Colombia helped
promising $450 million more Colombia dramatically re-
in U.S. aid to make sure the duce crime and violence,
peace agreement signed assisted the state in recov-
last year holds. ering its territorial integ-
Tillerson, while recognizing rity, led to the disarming
Colombia’s importance as of paramilitaries and beat
an ally and the success of back the guerrillas to the
past U.S.-Colombia coop- negotiating table,” Saba-
eration, was ambiguous tini said. “Now, ironically,
about the road ahead. that foundation — the bi-
While the remarks have not partisan consensus — is at
yet been made public, Til- risk of fracturing, just as the
lerson’s answers were first country is at the cusp of
published by Latin America what everyone wanted for
Goes Global, a website originally: peace.”
tracking U.S. policy toward On the region’s other hot
the region. They were con- spots Tillerson’s views seems
firmed by a Senate aide much more aligned with
who requested anonymity current policy.
because he was not au- On Venezuela, where the
thorized to share them with ruling socialists and op-
journalists. position are locked in a
Tillerson said he would struggle for power amid
“make every effort” at a severe economic crisis,
continuing the partnership. he repeated the Obama