WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is hosting Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the White House for talks next week, offering a high-profile visit to the leftist leader who has vowed to bring “total peace” to his nation of 50 million after six-decades of conflict.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that Biden and Petro during the April 20 visit will discuss economic and security cooperation as well as efforts to combat climate change, counter narcotics trafficking, migration, and more.
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Colombia’s government and its largest remaining rebel group - the communist-inspired National Liberation Army, known as ELN—launched talks in November shortly after Petro was elected president.
Petro has called the talks with the ELN a cornerstone of his plan aimed at resolving a conflict that dates back to the 1960s.
Some rural areas of Colombia are still under the grip of drug gangs and rebel groups despite a 2016 peace deal with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.