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The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, proposed to rebuild "Gran Colombia" as a confederation of autonomous nations through a constituent vote by the population. The initiative, presented via his official account on the social network X (formerly Twitter), revisits the idea of the liberator Simón Bolívar to integrate several countries in the region under a common framework.
"This is Greater Colombia, it was Bolívar's idea, and I propose that we rebuild it as a confederation of autonomous nations through a constituent vote from the population," wrote Petro. He explained that the project would aim to establish common policies in areas determined by the people, focusing on industrialization, clean energy, and regional connectivity.
"We would have common policies in the areas proposed by the people. Undoubtedly, the trade policy would focus on industrialization and on being what it geographically is: a center of the world and of Latin America," added the leader, also highlighting the possibility of creating a "Grand Colombian" parliament, a court of justice, and a government council "similar to those in the European Union or the federal US."
Petro accompanied his message with a historical map of the former Gran Colombia, which at the time included the present-day territories of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama.
The proposal from the Colombian president comes just days after the U.S. president, Donald Trump, announced that he will receive Petro at the White House during the first week of February, with drug trafficking as the “central theme” of the meeting. In his message on Social Truth, Trump stated: “I look forward to meeting with Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, at the White House during the first week of February. I am sure it will work very well for Colombia and the United States, but cocaine and other drugs must BE STOPPED before entering our country. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” (see more details).
The meeting between the two leaders will take place following weeks of diplomatic tensions, after Petro expressed his "concern" over the U.S. military operation in Venezuela that culminated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3. In response, Trump accused him of "defending an armed drug trafficker" and urged him to "worry more about the crime and drug trafficking that are destroying his country."
Days earlier, the Colombian president had reported the existence of a drug trafficking cartel that, he claimed, was plotting to assassinate him. In his message, Petro stated that the threat came from what he called "the Narcotrafficking Board," a structure with international connections and ties to foreign mafias that had reportedly operated for years without being detected by intelligence agencies.
“They wanted to kill me for uncovering them,” wrote the president, who noted that the individual tasked with carrying out the attack later died in Ecuador under violent circumstances. According to his account, the group would have connections with criminal organizations from Mexico and Albania, control strategic cocaine trafficking routes, and employ sophisticated methods such as submarines, cargo ships, and networks of young individuals trained to dive and scale large vessels.
The revelation occurred shortly after a phone conversation between Petro and Trump, during which they discussed the issue of drug trafficking and agreed on keeping the lines of communication open.
Petro's initiative to reconstruct the "Great Colombia" emerges at a time of heightened political and diplomatic tension in Latin America, characterized by the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, the appointment of Delcy Rodríguez as interim president, and the control of the transition process by the United States.
The Colombian government is simultaneously facing strong internal pressure from drug trafficking, rural violence, and the impact of the Venezuelan migration flow at its borders.
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