Sawt Falasteen - Blinken begins Latin American tour in Colombia to talk drugs

Blinken will meet with Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first ever leftist president, later Monday.

After Colombia, he will travel to Chile and Peru, which also recently elected leftist presidents.

But in Colombia, Petro's policy of offering an olive-branch to leftist guerrillas and drug-traffickers -- as long as they lay down their weapons and cease illegal activities -- is in stark contrast to his conservative predecessor Ivan Duque, who enjoyed good relations with the US.

"We have a very much shared approach on this. While from our own perspective law enforcement and security are important necessary components in dealing with this, they're insufficient," a senior State Department official said.

"We have to deal more effectively with the root causes of this."

He said Blinken was there to "listen carefully" and that "if there are differences, we will work through them."

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.

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.

After a tight first round, in which Bolsonaro did surprisingly well, there will be a run-off on October 30 with Brazil possibly also about to swing to the left.

Despite speculation that Bolsonaro might not accept electoral defeat, Blinken said Sunday the US shares "Brazil's confidence that the second round will be conducted in the same spirit of peace and civic duty."

Blinken's tour 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," said Brian Nichols, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

"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.

- Busy OAS agenda -

In Bogota on Monday and Tuesday, Blinken -- making his second visit to Colombia as secretary of state -- and Petro are expected to discuss drug trafficking and its impact on security, health and the environment, as well as migration.

US officials have called Colombia's protection of migrants fleeing poverty and unrest in Venezuela a "model for the region."

In August, when Petro took office, US officials said they were prepared to hold "open and honest" discussions on the US-backed war against drugs.

That effort has failed, Petro said, calling instead for efforts to reduce cocaine demand in developed countries.

Colombia, which suffered decades of civil war fueled in part by drug trafficking, is the world's leading cocaine producer. The US is its principal market.

Blinken travels to Chile Wednesday for talks with President Gabriel Boric, a 36-year-old former leader of student protests who came to power in March.

The US diplomat will end his trip in Peru on Thursday and Friday, where he will meet President Pedro Castillo, a former union leader who is the son of peasant farmers. Since coming to power last year, Castillo has faced multiple investigations for corruption and influence-peddling.

While in Lima, Blinken will take part in the yearly general assembly of the Organization of American States, which has a crowded agenda.

It will consider a resolution urging an end to "Russian aggression in Ukraine" -- though some Latin American capitals have expressed hesitance -- as well as resolutions on rights abuses in Nicaragua and on the dire economic and political situation in Haiti.

Throughout his trip, Blinken will raise US concerns about democracy, immigration, human rights and climate change, the State Department said.

K.AbuDahab--SF-PST