Sharjah24 – AFP: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins a tour of Latin American countries on Monday in Colombia, at a time when several key regional allies have recently elected leftist presidents.
The trip by the top US diplomat, whose country has been more focused in recent times on Asia and on the war in Ukraine, appears aimed partly at addressing any concerns of US neglect for its hemispheric allies.
After Colombia, Blinken will travel to Chile and Peru.
His trip begins a day after a hard-fought first-round election in Brazil, where voters faced a stark contrast between far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist challenger and former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. It will go to a runoff October 30 after Bolsonaro did surprisingly well against the heavily favored Lula.
Blinken's tour also comes on the heels of a prisoner exchange between the US and Venezuela, reflecting a cautious warming between the two despite the fact that Washington has never recognized the disputed 2018 re-election of Nicolas Maduro as president.
"We have never had stronger relations with this hemisphere," Brian Nichols, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told journalists on Friday.
"We are not judging countries based on where they fall on the political spectrum but rather their commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights," he said.
In Bogota on Monday and Tuesday, Blinken -- making his second visit to Colombia as secretary of state -- will meet with President Gustavo Petro, who in early August became the country's first leftist president.
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