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State Department: Peru, U.S. to reaffirm close partnership in Lima

17:36 | Washington D.C. (U.S.), Apr. 9.

United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will arrive in Lima (Peru) on April 13. There, he will meet with President Martin Vizcarra and Foreign Affairs Minister Nestor Popolizio, as well as reaffirm both countries' close partnership, the State Department informed on Tuesday.

In this sense, both nations work together on a broad range of issues, including transnational criminal organizations and narcotrafficking, illegal logging and mining, human trafficking, as well as counterfeit currency.

"President Vizcarra has been out in front of the issue of corruption, and not only at home but in the leadership he showed in the most recent Summit of the Americas, and we look forward to continuing to work together (…)," a U.S. Senior State Department Official stressed via teleconference.

Later on April 13, the Secretary is going to wrap up with a dinner with American business leaders in Lima.

U.S. trade arrangements with Peru have almost doubled the amount of trade between the two countries, and the North American country looks forward to doing even more.

It should be noted U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo will also travel to Chile, Paraguay, and Colombia between April 11-14.

Venezuela

"And this is a trip that reaffirms our commitment to the Western Hemisphere. We're showing up, we're engaged, and we're working with like-minded partners to promote economic opportunity and to promote security for citizens and to defend democracy," the U.S. Senior State Department Official told reporters.

"Now, for the Western Hemisphere, we see this as a critical moment for Venezuela, for Nicaragua, and for Cuba. Our cooperation with like-minded nations, like the ones that the Secretary's going to be visiting, can help the citizens of less fortunate and less free societies in our hemisphere turn the tide towards democracy," he underlined.

Lima Group

Likewise, he mentioned the Lima Group has been incredibly generous in how its members have received over 700,000 Venezuelans —migrants and refugees— in their countries displaced by Nicolas Maduro's man-made humanitarian crisis.

"And it's called the Lima Group for a reason because they have been really a leading force in organizing efforts to confront both, that humanitarian crisis and the causes of it," the official added.

Within this framework, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Colombia belong to a broad and growing regional consensus that says values must be defended and disavow those who would deny their own citizens liberty.

"That's why these governments have been doing and what they are doing and what they're continuing to do: working on behalf of democratic reform in Venezuela from within the Lima Group and extending humanitarian assistance to Venezuelans now scattered across the region by Nicolas Maduro's cruelty and his incompetence," the official emphasized.

Furthermore, he indicated Chile, Paraguay, and Peru are excellent models of the kind of transition that Venezuela can achieve, as each of these societies has had to struggle at various times in their fairly recent history against dictatorship.

Moreover, the U.S. Senior State Department Official pointed out each of them has overcome those challenges, and they have become strong advocates of the kind of societies that they have built –democratic societies, prosperous societies, societies that defend human rights. Plus, they have records to show that this is not only possible but is very much within the reach of the Venezuelan people.

(END) NDP/DTK/MVB

Published: 4/9/2019

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State Department: Peru, U.S. to reaffirm close partnership in Lima

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