Colombia’s Ambassador to the US Presented her Credentials to Donald Trump
Maria Consuelo Araujo, Colombia’s ambassador to the United States, presented her credentials to President Donald Trump this Tuesday, September 15. The Colombian diplomat was received by Monica Crowley, head of protocol at the White House, who escorted her to the Oval Office, where the U.S. president was waiting for her.
Araujo’s arrival coincides with the deadline for the United States to issue a decision on its certification. Washington must define whether it maintains or changes the position it granted Colombia regarding the fight against drug trafficking.
The new ambassador to the White House has held important positions in the public, private and academic sectors, and now must represent Colombia before one of its main international partners.
She is a professional in Finance and International Relations and a specialist in Government, Management and Public Affairs from the Universidad Externado de Colombia, and was appointed as the new ambassador to the United States after the government of that country granted its approval for her appointment. The decision was confirmed on August 17 by President Abelardo de la Espriella.
The arrival of the new Colombian ambassador in Washington also comes at a time when Trump must present to the U.S. Congress a list of countries that, in his view, failed during the past year to fulfill their commitments in the fight against drugs.
Colombia expects a new decision from the United States on anti-drug certification after, a year ago, Trump decertified the country for the first time in 28 years. The U.S. administration concluded that Colombia had “demonstrably failed to fulfill its drug control obligations,” although it maintained part of U.S. assistance.
On that occasion, the decision affected the government of Gustavo Petro and was also interpreted as a sign of pressure from Washington toward his administration. Now, with Abelardo De La Espriella, the political scenario is different and security occupies a central place in the rapprochement between Colombia and the United States.
That is the work Araujo must carry out before the White House, amid relations that have been strengthened, among other things, by the visit of Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Colombia and the South American country’s entry into the Shield of the Americas initiative against drug trafficking and terrorism.
Rubio and De la Espriella announced a “rebirth” of relations between the two countries and signed the so-called “Barranquilla Agreements,” a roadmap built around three fronts: “rebuild the homeland, recover the economy and shield the hemisphere,” as the Colombian president explained.
The new Colombian ambassador must also implement De la Espriella’s directive to turn the country into “the main hemispheric security partner with the United States.” Another of her tasks will be to advance the construction of the “21st Century Patriota Plan,” proposed by the Colombian president and focused on modernizing counter-drone systems, cyberdefense, intelligence and the military capabilities of the public forces.