Duque defends democracy against the “dictatorships” of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua

Colombian President Ivan Duke defended this Friday democracy against “the autocrats” of dictatorships in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua on the last day of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

“Here there are no ideological exclusions, here there is a forceful, illustrious rejection of any form of dictatorship and attack against the democratic structure in our nations,” said Duque in a speech.

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The Colombian president thus aligns himself with the position of the United States, which ruled out inviting these three countries as dictatorships, which led to the absence of several Latin American leaders from the meeting, such as those of Mexico, Bolivia and Honduras.

Others, such as those from Argentina and Chile, attended but criticized the United States for its decision.

“Let’s not fall into false narratives” because “our region is not divided between left and right or between progressives and conservatives,” said Duque, distinguishing between democrats and autocrats.

In the final stretch of his term, Duque advocated defending democracy “from the autocrats who feed on the p of populism, of the p of polarization, of the p of post-truth to fracture the peoples.”

“We cannot remain silent in the face of the dictatorship that overwhelms Venezuela or the one that overwhelms Nicaragua or the one that has overwhelmed the Cuban people,” he insisted.

Duque came out in defense of the Organization of American States (OAS), criticized by Argentina and Mexico, which have called for its restructuring, and congratulated the organization’s secretary general, Luis Almagro, for his “defense of the inter-American charter.”

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.