Sánchez received Duque at Moncloa Palace last July./ Photo: Pool Moncloa / J.M. Cuadrado
Luis Ayllón. 22/08/2018
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who will begin a tour of several Ibero-American countries next Monday, has in his agenda the problem of Venezuelan refugees, which he will deal with in a special way with the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, according to government sources consulted by The Diplomat.
Sánchez wish to offer Spanish collaboration to help solve the crisis that Venezuela and the border countries are experiencing, as a result of the arrival of millions of Venezuelans fleeing the Bolivarian regime of Nicolás Maduro in search of better living conditions. Last year, Spain contributed one million euros to the Venezuelan Red Cross to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and another 200,000 euros for the care plan in the border with Colombia, the main destination for refugees.
Obviously, the delicate situation that both Venezuela and Nicaragua are facing, which are of concern to the Government, will be present in the conversations Sánchez will hold with the leaders of Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Costa Rica. The trip, which will begin on Monday 27 and will continue until the 31st, is the recovery of the Ibero-American tours that Felipe González and José María Aznar made, but which were out of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Mariano Rajoy’s agendas, who limited themselves to bilateral visits to some countries in the region.
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The President of the Government will begin his tour on Monday through Chile, Bolivia, Colombia and Costa Rica
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Sanchez’s team has designed a tour that includes very varied destinations, with countries where there are conservative presidents like Sebastián Piñera in Chile, or Iván Duque in Colombia, and where there are important Spanish economic interests, but also others, such as Costa Rica, where the social democrat Carlos Alvarado governs; and Bolivia, where Evo Morales is clearly aligned with the Bolivarian bloc. With all of them it is foreseen that will have lunch or dinner and offer joint press conferences.
The intention of the head of the Executive is to be able to visit before the end of the year the highest number of Ibero-American countries and, for this, it is possible that he also takes advantage of the planned trips to Guatemala, in November, for the Ibero-American Summit; and to Argentina, in December, for the G-20, and make some leap to other capitals in the area.
