Colombia's President Santos Speaks Out Against US Sanctions On Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Source: International Business Times

Colombia's President Santos Speaks Out Against US Sanctions On Venezuela
By Brianna Lee @briannaclee [e-mail] on April 07 2015 2:15 PM EDT

Venezuela has been amassing support to denounce the sanctions President Obama issued against Venezuelan officials in March, collecting more than 8 million signatures asking for the sanctions to be repealed. But now there’s another unexpected voice speaking out against the sanctions: Colombia.

“We have always said that unilateral sanctions generally are counterproductive, and so we reject them,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in an interview with newspaper El Tiempo Monday. “I believe it would be more constructive to promote dialogue.”

Colombia and Venezuela have had a sometimes tense relationship over the years, with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro regularly accusing Colombia of conspiring against his administration. But their shared border and cooperation against drug trafficking also means Colombia has a strong interest in Venezuela’s stability.

. . .

On Tuesday, Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s national security adviser for strategic communication, affirmed that the U.S. “doesn’t believe that Venezuela poses some threat to national security.”

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/colombias-president-santos-speaks-out-against-us-sanctions-venezuela-1872646

[Bacchus4.0]

1. Here is another good quote from Santos from the same article

Santos said the two-day Summit of the Americas, which kicks off in Panama Friday, would be a prime opportunity for the U.S. and Venezuela to clear the air and build a “constructive dialogue to make decisions on the growing deterioration of [Venezuela’s] political, social and economic situation.”