On Wednesday 26 March, former Colombian vice-president Francisco Santos urged the European Union to become more involved in Latin America in order to help local governments combat foreign interference from countries such as China, Russia and Iran.
“Europe has abandoned Latin America. It must return” and promote stability and development in this “strategic region”, Mr Santos told the European Parliament. He hoped that the EU/Latin America and Caribbean summit in Bogotá in November would provide an opportunity to agree on specific “actions” to combat drug trafficking, which finances “kleptocracies” such as Venezuela, where the Maduro regime maintains close relations with Russia and Iran.
“Venezuela is the New York Stock Exchange for cocaine, and a lot of that cocaine reaches Europe”, said the Colombian political leader.
On the same day, the co-president of the Eurolat parliamentary assembly, Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spanish), stressed the importance of the EU supporting the people of Latin America who aspire to achieving democracy. “The least we can do is listen to civil society”, he added. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)