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U.S. Department of State Weekly Digest Bulletin Inbox x U.S. Department of State <usstatebpa@public.govdelivery.com> 7:27 AM (5 hours ago)  to me Public Schedule – January 19, 2020 01/18/2020 You are subscribed to Public Schedule for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Public Schedule – January 19, 2020 01/18/2020 09:06 PM EST Office of the Spokesperson ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** DEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLIC SCHEDULESUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2020 SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO Secretary Pompeo is on travel to Germany, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Florida from January 18-23, 2020.  Please click here for more information. 9:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 10:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 11:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 12:45 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 1:30 p.m.  LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 2:15 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo participates in the Berlin Conference on Libya, in Berlin, Germany. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** Acting Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Ambassador Nathan A. Sales Travels to Colombia 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Acting Undersecretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Ambassador Nathan A. Sales Travels to Colombia 01/19/2020 08:10 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson Ambassador Nathan A. Sales will travel to Bogota, Colombia, from January 19–21. Ambassador Sales will participate in the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial and, acting with the authorities of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, meet with senior Colombian officials to discuss bilateral and regional cooperation on counternarcotics, migration, information sharing, and counterterrorist financing issues. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu 01/19/2020 08:32 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin to discuss Libya, Syria, and a range of bilateral issues. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu agreed on the urgent need for a lasting ceasefire and a return to a UN-facilitated political process. The Secretary expressed concern about foreign military involvement in the conflict. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu 01/19/2020 08:32 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Berlin to discuss Libya, Syria, and a range of bilateral issues. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu agreed on the urgent need for a lasting ceasefire and a return to a UN-facilitated political process. The Secretary expressed concern about foreign military involvement in the conflict. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi 01/19/2020 08:25 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus: Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the margins of the Berlin Summit. Secretary Pompeo expressed outrage over the pointless and tragic death of detained U.S. citizen Moustafa Kassem in Egypt. On Libya, the Secretary and President El-Sisi agreed on the urgent need for a lasting ceasefire and a return to a UN-facilitated political process. Secretary Pompeo emphasized the destabilizing impact of foreign interference in Libya. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates 01/19/2020 08:39 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The following is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo met today with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates in Berlin. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the ongoing conflict in Libya. Secretary Pompeo emphasized the need for a lasting ceasefire, a return to a UN-facilitated political process, and the end of all foreign intervention in Libya. The Secretary and Foreign Minister also discussed the continuing threat of the Islamic Republic of Iran to all nations in the region. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Europe and Eurasia for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas 01/19/2020 10:22 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Maas discussed ongoing international efforts to support a durable ceasefire, a return to a political process, and an end of foreign interference in Libya. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister pledged to continue strong support for Libyan sovereignty. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Maas also discussed U.S.-German coordination on a range of global challenges, including Afghanistan, and the need to counter Iran’s aggressive and destabilizing actions in the Middle East. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with European Union High Representative Josep Borrell 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with European Union High Representative Josep Borrell 01/19/2020 10:34 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today European Union High Representative and Vice President Josep Borrell. They discussed ongoing international efforts to support a durable ceasefire in Libya, a return to a political process, and the end of foreign interference in Libya. The Secretary and the High Representative pledged to continue to strongly support Libyan sovereignty. They also discussed U.S.-EU coordination on a range of global challenges, including the need to counter Iran’s aggressive and destabilizing actions in the Middle East. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Pompeo’s Meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas 01/19/2020 10:22 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson The below is attributable to Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus:‎ Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Maas discussed ongoing international efforts to support a durable ceasefire, a return to a political process, and an end of foreign interference in Libya. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister pledged to continue strong support for Libyan sovereignty. Secretary Pompeo and Foreign Minister Maas also discussed U.S.-German coordination on a range of global challenges, including Afghanistan, and the need to counter Iran’s aggressive and destabilizing actions in the Middle East. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press 01/19/2020 04:54 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State En Route to Lajes The Azores, Portugal SECRETARY POMPEO: So just a couple things, then I’m happy to take a few questions. First of all, I’m sure you’ve seen the reporting from Colombia that there was a ship that had an accident. There was a person underneath the chief of mission control who’s missing and presumed dead, a very unfortunate accident. We’re notifying next of kin, and I just want to express my deep concern about this. It was a terrible event. Second, I just left the Berlin gathering where we had most of the parties who have the capacity to improve the lives of the Libyan people. There was progress made towards a full-fledged ceasefire, a truce, temporary stand-down. There’s still a lot of work to do. It’s a complicated battlefield. But you had President Erdogan, President Putin, Chancellor Merkel, all making a sincere commitment; Special Representative Salame who’s running the UN (inaudible) making a sincere commitment and said we’re going to do this – we’re going to reduce risks, we’re going to conduct the ceasefire. Still some questions about how well and how effectively we can monitor this, but I’m optimistic that there will be less violence and there’ll be an opportunity to begin the conversation that Special Representative Salame has been trying to get going between the Libyan parties – much more likely today than it was before this meeting. So I’m appreciative of what Chancellor Merkel was able to do. And then finally, I’m looking forward to the trip. We’ll have a – we will start off with a meeting with President Duque and then move into the reason for the trip, which is a counterterrorism gathering put together by nations from – leaders from all across South American countries, talking about how we’re going to counter terrorism and how we’re going to work on this together. So with that, happy to take a handful of questions. QUESTION: So just — MS ORTAGUS: Wait, that’s not how we do it here. We’ll go around and everybody gets one question each. Go ahead, Humeyra. SECRETARY POMPEO: Hi. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, hi, hello. How – what – how big of a priority is Libya for President Trump? What is the U.S. prepared to do? Are you prepared to militarily engage if it comes to that? And if Hiftar seizes Tripoli, would you recognize him as the legitimate leader? SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, we never get out in front of things we will do or the things we won’t do. America has a counterterrorism interest there. There are important energy opportunities there in Libya. One of the things I did mention is that we hope that the closure that had taken place – the closure of some of the crude oil getting out – we hope that will be opened up as a result of this conversation as well. And we’re committed to a political resolution, as we have been for a long time, and we’re implementing U.S., United States’ efforts, diplomatic efforts to achieving that outcome. MS ORTAGUS: Okay. Kevin, your turn. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, there’s been some reports that President – that President Guaido is going to be in Colombia. Are you planning to meet with him and what are your goals with regards to Venezuela as it relates to Colombia? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah. Well, we hope he’ll be there. When we have leaders and we’re talking about counterterrorism in South America, he’s the duly elected leader in Venezuela; we hope he’ll join us and I look forward to having a meeting with him. Our mission in Venezuela hasn’t changed. We are convinced that the Venezuelan people deserve a better 2020 than they had in 2019. Maduro has been destructive. He – you have millions of people who have to flee the country to the very country I’m headed to, to Colombia. Our mission set is to continue to work through all the diplomatic channels to achieve the outcome that President Trump laid out now about 18 months ago. MS ORTAGUS: CBS. QUESTION: Can you talk about some of the ideas that were discussed about enforcing a ceasefire in Libya, and was there a commitment to the UN arms embargo from various sides? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, so we talked a lot about the UN arms embargo and the fact that there are many nations that are violating that. There was lots of conversation about how it is we’ll get these various participants who have been providing weapons systems that have been fueling this conflict, and the need to unwind that. I think we made progress, at least progress in getting fewer new weapons systems, fewer new forces to flow into the region, so that we can get at least a standstill so that we can begin to unwind this potential tragedy and get to the political resolution that I know everybody that came there today wanted to achieve. QUESTION: And the monitoring of the ceasefire? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I’m going to let Chancellor Merkel talk about that. I hope that she’ll have something that she can announce tomorrow. MS ORTAGUS: Jessica. QUESTION: Back to on Venezuela. SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am. QUESTION: Would you agree with what has been said by Abrams that the U.S. underestimated Russia and is – are you prepared to sanction Rosneft? And how much of a setback would you say the National Assembly violence that we saw in the past week is for the goal there? SECRETARY POMPEO: I think everyone understood that the challenge – the challenge of restoring democracy to Venezuela – was going to be difficult. I don’t – I can speak for most of the folks that I deal with every day around the world: We all knew this would be an enormous challenge, that Maduro would not go away easily. We’ve made real progress. If the Cubans will stop propping him up – and we’re working to convince them that this is not in the Cuban people’s best interest – and if those around him from a security perspective will ultimately make the conclusion that Venezuela is better off with Maduro having departed, then I think we can get our objective. But I – everybody wants to know the day and the hour. We don’t know the day and the hour. What we know is we can help the opposition continue to congeal, continue to build forces. They represent the Venezuelan people, and our mission set is to deliver a set of free and fair elections to the Venezuelan people so that they can have a presidential election that represents them and we can begin to put the Venezuelan economy back on its feet and get it going in the right direction. MS ORTAGUS: (Inaudible.) All right. QUESTION: I just wanted to clarify: Has the State Department opened its own investigation into the security of Ambassador Yovanovitch when she was in Ukraine? And can you clarify some — SECRETARY POMPEO: Sorry, did who open their own investigation? QUESTION: The State Department. QUESTION: Has the State Department opened its own investigation? And something you said on some radio shows last week about not communicating, not knowing Lev Parnas. Can you say that you knew what he was tasked with as an associate of Rudy Giuliani on behalf of the President personally, while he was in Ukraine? SECRETARY POMPEO: I’d never heard of Lev Parnas until this all became public. QUESTION: And about the investigation? SECRETARY POMPEO: Anytime there are allegations that some officer of the State Department is at risk, we take a look at it. We’re committed to that and we’ll keep doing it. Sometimes we resolve these things very quickly – we conclude that what we thought might have been going on wasn’t going on and we can end it quickly; sometimes we need to do more. We don’t talk about it in detail in terms of what we’re actually doing. But I want every one of the members of the State Department team to know that if there are allegations that someone is doing something that might put them at risk, the State Department takes those allegations seriously and we’ll do our best not only to figure out what’s real, but to make sure that they’re safe and secure. MS ORTAGUS: Okay. Thanks, everybody. SECRETARY POMPEO: Great. Thanks, everybody. QUESTION: Thank you, sir. SECRETARY POMPEO: Have a great trip. Just another couple of hours. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press 01/19/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press 01/19/2020 04:54 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State En Route to Lajes The Azores, Portugal SECRETARY POMPEO: So just a couple things, then I’m happy to take a few questions. First of all, I’m sure you’ve seen the reporting from Colombia that there was a ship that had an accident. There was a person underneath the chief of mission control who’s missing and presumed dead, a very unfortunate accident. We’re notifying next of kin, and I just want to express my deep concern about this. It was a terrible event. Second, I just left the Berlin gathering where we had most of the parties who have the capacity to improve the lives of the Libyan people. There was progress made towards a full-fledged ceasefire, a truce, temporary stand-down. There’s still a lot of work to do. It’s a complicated battlefield. But you had President Erdogan, President Putin, Chancellor Merkel, all making a sincere commitment; Special Representative Salame who’s running the UN (inaudible) making a sincere commitment and said we’re going to do this – we’re going to reduce risks, we’re going to conduct the ceasefire. Still some questions about how well and how effectively we can monitor this, but I’m optimistic that there will be less violence and there’ll be an opportunity to begin the conversation that Special Representative Salame has been trying to get going between the Libyan parties – much more likely today than it was before this meeting. So I’m appreciative of what Chancellor Merkel was able to do. And then finally, I’m looking forward to the trip. We’ll have a – we will start off with a meeting with President Duque and then move into the reason for the trip, which is a counterterrorism gathering put together by nations from – leaders from all across South American countries, talking about how we’re going to counter terrorism and how we’re going to work on this together. So with that, happy to take a handful of questions. QUESTION: So just — MS ORTAGUS: Wait, that’s not how we do it here. We’ll go around and everybody gets one question each. Go ahead, Humeyra. SECRETARY POMPEO: Hi. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, hi, hello. How – what – how big of a priority is Libya for President Trump? What is the U.S. prepared to do? Are you prepared to militarily engage if it comes to that? And if Hiftar seizes Tripoli, would you recognize him as the legitimate leader? SECRETARY POMPEO: Well, we never get out in front of things we will do or the things we won’t do. America has a counterterrorism interest there. There are important energy opportunities there in Libya. One of the things I did mention is that we hope that the closure that had taken place – the closure of some of the crude oil getting out – we hope that will be opened up as a result of this conversation as well. And we’re committed to a political resolution, as we have been for a long time, and we’re implementing U.S., United States’ efforts, diplomatic efforts to achieving that outcome. MS ORTAGUS: Okay. Kevin, your turn. QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, there’s been some reports that President – that President Guaido is going to be in Colombia. Are you planning to meet with him and what are your goals with regards to Venezuela as it relates to Colombia? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah. Well, we hope he’ll be there. When we have leaders and we’re talking about counterterrorism in South America, he’s the duly elected leader in Venezuela; we hope he’ll join us and I look forward to having a meeting with him. Our mission in Venezuela hasn’t changed. We are convinced that the Venezuelan people deserve a better 2020 than they had in 2019. Maduro has been destructive. He – you have millions of people who have to flee the country to the very country I’m headed to, to Colombia. Our mission set is to continue to work through all the diplomatic channels to achieve the outcome that President Trump laid out now about 18 months ago. MS ORTAGUS: CBS. QUESTION: Can you talk about some of the ideas that were discussed about enforcing a ceasefire in Libya, and was there a commitment to the UN arms embargo from various sides? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, so we talked a lot about the UN arms embargo and the fact that there are many nations that are violating that. There was lots of conversation about how it is we’ll get these various participants who have been providing weapons systems that have been fueling this conflict, and the need to unwind that. I think we made progress, at least progress in getting fewer new weapons systems, fewer new forces to flow into the region, so that we can get at least a standstill so that we can begin to unwind this potential tragedy and get to the political resolution that I know everybody that came there today wanted to achieve. QUESTION: And the monitoring of the ceasefire? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I’m going to let Chancellor Merkel talk about that. I hope that she’ll have something that she can announce tomorrow. MS ORTAGUS: Jessica. QUESTION: Back to on Venezuela. SECRETARY POMPEO: Yes, ma’am. QUESTION: Would you agree with what has been said by Abrams that the U.S. underestimated Russia and is – are you prepared to sanction Rosneft? And how much of a setback would you say the National Assembly violence that we saw in the past week is for the goal there? SECRETARY POMPEO: I think everyone understood that the challenge – the challenge of restoring democracy to Venezuela – was going to be difficult. I don’t – I can speak for most of the folks that I deal with every day around the world: We all knew this would be an enormous challenge, that Maduro would not go away easily. We’ve made real progress. If the Cubans will stop propping him up – and we’re working to convince them that this is not in the Cuban people’s best interest – and if those around him from a security perspective will ultimately make the conclusion that Venezuela is better off with Maduro having departed, then I think we can get our objective. But I – everybody wants to know the day and the hour. We don’t know the day and the hour. What we know is we can help the opposition continue to congeal, continue to build forces. They represent the Venezuelan people, and our mission set is to deliver a set of free and fair elections to the Venezuelan people so that they can have a presidential election that represents them and we can begin to put the Venezuelan economy back on its feet and get it going in the right direction. MS ORTAGUS: (Inaudible.) All right. QUESTION: I just wanted to clarify: Has the State Department opened its own investigation into the security of Ambassador Yovanovitch when she was in Ukraine? And can you clarify some — SECRETARY POMPEO: Sorry, did who open their own investigation? QUESTION: The State Department. QUESTION: Has the State Department opened its own investigation? And something you said on some radio shows last week about not communicating, not knowing Lev Parnas. Can you say that you knew what he was tasked with as an associate of Rudy Giuliani on behalf of the President personally, while he was in Ukraine? SECRETARY POMPEO: I’d never heard of Lev Parnas until this all became public. QUESTION: And about the investigation? SECRETARY POMPEO: Anytime there are allegations that some officer of the State Department is at risk, we take a look at it. We’re committed to that and we’ll keep doing it. Sometimes we resolve these things very quickly – we conclude that what we thought might have been going on wasn’t going on and we can end it quickly; sometimes we need to do more. We don’t talk about it in detail in terms of what we’re actually doing. But I want every one of the members of the State Department team to know that if there are allegations that someone is doing something that might put them at risk, the State Department takes those allegations seriously and we’ll do our best not only to figure out what’s real, but to make sure that they’re safe and secure. MS ORTAGUS: Okay. Thanks, everybody. SECRETARY POMPEO: Great. Thanks, everybody. QUESTION: Thank you, sir. SECRETARY POMPEO: Have a great trip. Just another couple of hours. Public Schedule – January 20, 2020 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Public Schedule for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Public Schedule – January 20, 2020 01/20/2020 08:10 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** The Department of State is closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. SECRETARY MICHAEL R. POMPEO Secretary Pompeo is on travel to Germany, Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Florida from January 18-23, 2020.  Please click here for more information. 8:30 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Colombian President Ivan Duque and Foreign Minister Claudia Blum, in Bogota, Colombia. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 9:05 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque deliver joint press statements, in Bogota, Colombia. (OPEN PRESS COVERAGE) 9:35 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo participates in a memorial event for victims of the January 2019 attack, in Bogota Colombia. (POOLED PRESS COVERAGE) 10:00 a.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo delivers remarks at the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial, in Bogota, Colombia. (POOLED PRESS COVERAGE FOR OPENING REMARKS) 2:05 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric, in Bogota, Colombia. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) 4:00 p.m. LOCAL Secretary Pompeo meets with Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo, in Bogota, Colombia. (POOLED CAMERA SPRAY AT TOP) ***THE DAILY PUBLIC SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*** COLOMBIA AND THE UNITED STATES: STRENGTHENING OUR PARTNERSHIP 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. COLOMBIA AND THE UNITED STATES: STRENGTHENING OUR PARTNERSHIP 01/20/2020 08:18 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson  “The United States values our friendship with Colombia – a relationship rooted in a shared set of values, a commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental human rights.” — U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, October 9, 2019 Secretary Pompeo will travel to Colombia on January 19 to speak at the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial in Bogota and participate in bilateral meetings with senior officials from Colombia and other countries.   The Secretary will reaffirm the strong U.S. partnership with Colombia to address peace and security for citizens, to counter narcotics production and trafficking, and to discuss the humanitarian crisis of Venezuelan refugees. COUNTERTERRORISM SUMMIT TO CONFRONT SHARED THREATS The United States will join 20 nations in Bogota to broaden and deepen bilateral and multilateral counterterrorism cooperation in the Western Hemisphere. This engagement follows two previous Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial meetings hosted in Washington, D.C., in December 2018 and in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 2019. The Ministerial will address Iran-backed terrorist proxy Hizballah’s activities in the hemisphere. Paraguay, Brazil, and Peru have arrested Hizballah operatives in the past several years on terrorism, money laundering, and other criminal charges. Argentina and Paraguay have adopted designations regimes and sanctioned Hizballah and other terrorist groups within the past year, while Honduras and Guatemala have stated their intent to designate Hizballah. We applaud this progress and encourage other countries to follow these examples. Ministerial participants will also discuss the Maduro regime’s hosting of ELN, FARC dissidents, and Hizballah sympathizers in Venezuela.  The U.S. government has certified Venezuela as “not fully cooperating with U.S. anti-terrorism” efforts annually since 2006. Ministerial participants will also commemorate the one-year anniversary of an attack by the ELN terrorist group on a police barrack in Bogota, killing 22 cadets. ADVANCING COMMON SECURITY GOALS The United States and Colombia enjoy a long-standing friendship.  We officially recognized Colombia as an independent state in 1822, and our first diplomatic presence in Colombia was established in 1823. Colombia continues to be a strong partner for the United States on security issues, including counterterrorism and counternarcotics.  We are working together to reduce coca cultivation and cocaine production by 50 percent by the end of 2023.  President Duque recently announced that, with substantial U.S. assistance, Colombia eradicated more than 100,000 hectares of coca in 2019. The United States strongly supports Colombia’s comprehensive, whole-of-government strategy for addressing the coca/cocaine problem, which focuses on dismantling criminal organizations, reducing drug supply and demand, combating money laundering, and increasing state presence and economic opportunity in poor rural areas, where narcotics trafficking thrives. OUR PARTNERSHIP, ROOTED IN DEMOCRATIC VALUES, SUPPORTS PEACE AND PROSPERITY Colombia is a key U.S. partner in ongoing efforts to help Venezuela in its return to democracy and economic prosperity.  Colombia’s leadership has been essential in coordinating regional support for Interim President Juan Guaido, as well as condemning Maduro’s misrule and adopting policies to isolate his regime, including in the OAS and Lima Group. The U.S. government has spent more than $251 million to help Colombia address the Venezuelan crisis and support the estimated 1.63 million Venezuelan refugees that Colombia hosts. Since 2016, the United States has provided more than one billion dollars in direct and indirect support to peace implementation – by far the largest contribution of any international actor. The United States is Colombia’s largest trade and investment partner, with large investments in the mining and manufacturing sectors. Colombia is the United States’ third-largest trade partner in Latin America, with two-way goods trade of $29 billion in 2018.  U.S.-owned affiliates account for more than 90,000 jobs in Colombia. We are building on our mutual success under the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (CTPA). U.S. agriculture exports have more than doubled under the CTPA, reaching a record level of $2.91 billion in 2018.  Such trade benefits both the United States and the Colombian people. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale’s Travel to Bolivia and Uruguay 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale’s Travel to Bolivia and Uruguay 01/20/2020 08:24 AM EST Office of the Spokesperson Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale will travel to La Paz, Bolivia and Montevideo, Uruguay, January 20-24.  In La Paz, he will meet with Transitional President Anez and other Bolivian political leaders.  They will discuss the need to ensure free, fair, inclusive and transparent elections on May 3 and opportunities to improve economic growth and strengthen our bilateral relationship. In Montevideo, Under Secretary Hale will meet with Uruguayan President-elect Luis Lacalle Pou and other Uruguyan political leaders.  They will discuss opportunities to strengthen the bilateral relationship under the new Uruguayan administration, support for democracy in Venezuela, and regional economic development. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque at a Press Availability 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Secretary's Remarks for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque at a Press Availability 01/20/2020 12:23 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Bogota, Colombia General Santander Police Academy PRESIDENT DUQUE:  (In Spanish.) SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, President Duque.  Good to see you again.  Good morning, everyone.  In the United States, today it’s Martin Luther King Day.  Happy recognition of this great American leader. Before I recap my meeting with the president, I want to comment on the tragic loss that Mission Colombia and the entire State Department suffered this past weekend.  As you may already know, one of our team members, an American, is missing and presumed dead as a result of a boating accident that occurred on Saturday.  We’ve notified the next of kin but are withholding the name of the victim for privacy considerations.  Other government personnel – some assigned to Colombia and others visiting – were also rescued at the scene of the accident.  Some sustained modest injuries, and one was airlifted to the United States yesterday for treatment. I want to thank President Duque – you, and your team, and your government – also the private citizens of Colombia – for the outstanding assistance that they provided during the course of the rescue operations.  And to my entire State Department team, Susan and I are with you in your grief.  You have my word the department will do everything in our power to comfort and support those who have suffered from this devastating loss. Turning back to my meeting with President Duque, it’s always a privilege to come here to Colombia and visit with dear friends of the United States of America.  It’s great to get here so early in the new year.  As President Duque said, I’ve been to Colombia multiple times.  This is, in fact, my ninth trip to the region.  This region is our shared home.  What happens here in Colombia affects all of us in the United States.  And I’ve said repeatedly, most recently at the OAS just a few days ago, I’m glad to see that cooperation between democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere is at an all-time high.  Citizens are rejecting authoritarianism and embracing freedom, and that’s good for all of us.  We aspire to have a hemisphere of freedom. The longstanding friendship between the United States and Colombia has been key to this democratic vision, and to its evolution over these past few years.  President Duque and I just discussed our commitment, our reaffirmation of a commitment and our shared values.  At the top of the agenda was the enormous humanitarian crisis in Venezuela caused by Nicolas Maduro and his regime.  I saw firsthand the devastating consequences of what Maduro brought when I traveled to Cucuta a few months back.  The world must continue to support the Venezuelan people’s efforts to restore their democracy and put an end to Maduro’s tyranny, which harms millions of Venezuelans and has an impact on Colombia, and indeed on the entire region.  The United States is grateful for the Colombian people’s generosity.  Their outstanding effort to take care of 1.6 million refugees is truly remarkable and stands in sharp contrast to the misery inflicted by Maduro. I’m also proud of what we did together last year at the UN General Assembly in New York.  Under the Rio Treaty, we joined forces with 13 countries to share information and apply sanctions to current and former regime members, and their families.  The United States and Colombia will continue to work with those countries bilaterally to help the Venezuelan people restore democracy. Turning to security matters, a major purpose of this trip is to build on the hemisphere’s good counterterrorism work that we did in Buenos Aires last July.  We’ll do that again with our ministerial here in just a little bit this morning.  This multilateral cooperation, so much of it targeting the financial activity of Iranian proxy groups, would have been unlikely even just a few years ago.  Colombia’s active role reflects its enduring security partnership, and your exemplary commitment to fighting all forms of terrorism is deeply appreciated and benefits everyone in the region. Colombia has also done this at great cost.  In just a few moments I’ll attend a memorial ceremony for the 22 police cadets slain and dozens wounded by ELN terrorists just over a year ago.  President Duque and I both know that those losses, that suffering, was not in vain. Our talks, too, affirmed our shared resolve to continue to fight drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.  As a result of aggressive counter-narcotics efforts by President Trump and President Duque, President Duque’s administration has rolled back record high coca cultivation and cocaine production levels.  Much work remains; we’ll keep the progress going.  I know that we can. And finally, too, Colombia is a champion in this hemisphere of freedom.  Through our shared commitment to democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, we applaud how the Colombian Government responded to protests last year with professionalism, good planning, respect for human dignity and decency, and calls for a national dialogue.  The United States values this important friendship.  We will continue to prioritize it and prioritize our relationships here in the region, and we’ll continue to build partnerships for that hemisphere of freedom. Thank you, Mr. President, for being with me this morning. PRESIDENT DUQUE:  (In Spanish.) (Via interpreter)  Thank you very much, dear Secretary Pompeo.  I would also like first of all to express our solidarity and our condolences.  Our solidarity for the incident that occurred over the weekend, which was an accident and that affected some U.S. citizens, and naturally express our condolences for what has been a several-days search for embassy officials. As you all know, we have the national navy teams as well as all the local and coast guard services engaged in the corresponding investigation in an effort to reach fruitful results so as to find the body of the person that has not been found yet.  You know, Secretary Pompeo, that we have a shared solidarity in this respect and the people of Colombia regret the incident. In the second place, I would like to thank you for coming back to Colombia, and I want to thank you for visiting this school, the General Santander Police Academy.  This is a cadet training center of national police of Colombia – men and women, young men and women who have made the decision to follow the path to do good, to serve the community, to serve the people, to be willing to put their life on the line for others. So your visit today is something that we receive as homage to those 22 angels that were brutally and cruelly assassinated by terrorism, but they accompany us from the sky and they hope that we build in Colombia, but in other parts of the world, a concept of peace with legality where we see the rule of law, to impose exemplary sanctions against whoever resorts to these despicable actions.  And I thank you for participating in this homage.  And I believe that this hemispheric effort against terrorism is of paramount importance.  It’s important because there are too many Latin American countries, there will be many Latin American countries present here, and they will continue the efforts that started not just in Buenos Aires and in Santiago, the preparatory meeting, but in D.C. so that we have the best possible coordination to stand up to this global scourge. And once again, if this, Mr. Secretary Pompeo, should be a meeting where the countries of Latin America can progress in the implementation of all the instruments derived from the UN Security Council on the fight against terrorism, and underlining Resolution 1373 of the year 2001 whereby we all condemn, censor, sanction, and adopt the necessary actions whenever we see states sponsoring, protecting, or allowing that terrorist activities take place in their country. In this morning’s conversation, we were able to share our concerns regarding the support that the tyranny and dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro is giving to terrorists in its territory.  And I will address that topic during the conference.  But I am convinced that this meeting that also has TIAR member countries, will allow us to elevate those denouncements and sanctions, and the international community will be more strict in its combating terrorism. Allow me to add our deepfelt gratitude for last week’s visit by Dr. Adam Boehler, who reports to you directly.  And Adam is currently leading the new financial instrument for development that has been an evolution of what – it used to be the OPIC.  His visit to Colombia was very, very important because it was clear that the United States has an agenda to support the territorial approach development projects, as well as to build peace with legality by bringing financial and development tools to the regions to enhance the provision of public goods in regions harshly hit by violence and poverty.  I believe that the effort made last week with this very important announcement for coming years reaffirms that we will be in the regions with security and justice, and at the same time with the provision of public goods.  So we truly thank you for your support. I would also like to express – as you yourself have said – that the work in combating drugs will be maintained.  It is comprehensive, and it responds to a government policy and to a state policy that combine a multiplicity of tools.  But we can clearly say that in the year 2019 was a year where Colombia reached peak numbers in manual eradication and seizures, as well as achieving record numbers in destroying the illegal labs and capabilities of these illegal groups.  In 2019, we also made great strides in development projects in regions harshly hit by this scourge.  And there is yet a lot more to be done, but every day we need to improve our capabilities.  And I am convinced that this alliance of shared responsibility and coordination must be preserved in order to stand up to one of the worst scourges faced by our societies. Mr. Secretary Pompeo, allow me now to address the topic of the humanitarian assistance provided to Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.  U.S. support has been very important.  We need to mobilize more resources from the international community to service the migrant population, particularly the one arriving in our country seeking medical care or vaccination that know they cannot find in Venezuela.  We also need to mobilize additional efforts from the international community to deal with the malnutrition of the children arriving in our country.  That’s why we are so interested in the next few days urging and calling other countries to join us in our cause. But I would like to thank what has been true coordination to denounce the evil effects of the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro in the worst humanitarian and migration crisis that Latin America has seen in its recent history.  And we discussed it today, because we are talking about over 6 million people who have left Venezuela in recent years.  And Colombia has received 1.6 million Venezuelan migrants, and we know the fiscal, social, and economic pressure this brings with it.  But it is clear to us that the only way to solve this is when we see a credible transition taking place in Venezuela.  And hence the importance of what you and I discussed today and that we have announced publicly in recent days: the urgent plea to hold and call – to call and hold free, credible elections in Venezuela.  And for such free and credible elections will also go hand in hand with an economic reactivation plan, and there we see the entire international community converge around that. We stand firm in that regard, Secretary Pompeo, and we will do the same in all international instances.  We will repeat this plea, this call, and I would like to say that the progress made in TIAR to denounce all that the Venezuelan dictatorship is doing through its criminal structures must translate into pressuring that political transition as promptly as possible. The other topics we have looked at today are of the bilateral and hemispheric nature.  But allow me to close by saying the following: This meeting that has brought us here today, where we will talk about the binational agenda reaffirms the commitment of two countries to strengthen their trade, their investment, their joint work in favor of security, combating terrorism and combating narco-trafficking.  Colombia and the United States have had a historical alliance, and it will be preserved, maintained, and enhanced.  And today we are strengthened because we want to defend freedom in a country such as our sister nation of Venezuela. Thank you very much, Secretary Pompeo.  And once again, my solidarity with you for the incidents occurred in recent days.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.) Secretary Michael R. Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque at a Press Availability 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo and Colombian President Ivan Duque at a Press Availability 01/20/2020 12:23 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Bogota, Colombia General Santander Police Academy PRESIDENT DUQUE:  (In Spanish.) SECRETARY POMPEO:  Thank you, President Duque.  Good to see you again.  Good morning, everyone.  In the United States, today it’s Martin Luther King Day.  Happy recognition of this great American leader. Before I recap my meeting with the president, I want to comment on the tragic loss that Mission Colombia and the entire State Department suffered this past weekend.  As you may already know, one of our team members, an American, is missing and presumed dead as a result of a boating accident that occurred on Saturday.  We’ve notified the next of kin but are withholding the name of the victim for privacy considerations.  Other government personnel – some assigned to Colombia and others visiting – were also rescued at the scene of the accident.  Some sustained modest injuries, and one was airlifted to the United States yesterday for treatment. I want to thank President Duque – you, and your team, and your government – also the private citizens of Colombia – for the outstanding assistance that they provided during the course of the rescue operations.  And to my entire State Department team, Susan and I are with you in your grief.  You have my word the department will do everything in our power to comfort and support those who have suffered from this devastating loss. Turning back to my meeting with President Duque, it’s always a privilege to come here to Colombia and visit with dear friends of the United States of America.  It’s great to get here so early in the new year.  As President Duque said, I’ve been to Colombia multiple times.  This is, in fact, my ninth trip to the region.  This region is our shared home.  What happens here in Colombia affects all of us in the United States.  And I’ve said repeatedly, most recently at the OAS just a few days ago, I’m glad to see that cooperation between democratic nations of the Western Hemisphere is at an all-time high.  Citizens are rejecting authoritarianism and embracing freedom, and that’s good for all of us.  We aspire to have a hemisphere of freedom. The longstanding friendship between the United States and Colombia has been key to this democratic vision, and to its evolution over these past few years.  President Duque and I just discussed our commitment, our reaffirmation of a commitment and our shared values.  At the top of the agenda was the enormous humanitarian crisis in Venezuela caused by Nicolas Maduro and his regime.  I saw firsthand the devastating consequences of what Maduro brought when I traveled to Cucuta a few months back.  The world must continue to support the Venezuelan people’s efforts to restore their democracy and put an end to Maduro’s tyranny, which harms millions of Venezuelans and has an impact on Colombia, and indeed on the entire region.  The United States is grateful for the Colombian people’s generosity.  Their outstanding effort to take care of 1.6 million refugees is truly remarkable and stands in sharp contrast to the misery inflicted by Maduro. I’m also proud of what we did together last year at the UN General Assembly in New York.  Under the Rio Treaty, we joined forces with 13 countries to share information and apply sanctions to current and former regime members, and their families.  The United States and Colombia will continue to work with those countries bilaterally to help the Venezuelan people restore democracy. Turning to security matters, a major purpose of this trip is to build on the hemisphere’s good counterterrorism work that we did in Buenos Aires last July.  We’ll do that again with our ministerial here in just a little bit this morning.  This multilateral cooperation, so much of it targeting the financial activity of Iranian proxy groups, would have been unlikely even just a few years ago.  Colombia’s active role reflects its enduring security partnership, and your exemplary commitment to fighting all forms of terrorism is deeply appreciated and benefits everyone in the region. Colombia has also done this at great cost.  In just a few moments I’ll attend a memorial ceremony for the 22 police cadets slain and dozens wounded by ELN terrorists just over a year ago.  President Duque and I both know that those losses, that suffering, was not in vain. Our talks, too, affirmed our shared resolve to continue to fight drug trafficking and other forms of organized crime.  As a result of aggressive counter-narcotics efforts by President Trump and President Duque, President Duque’s administration has rolled back record high coca cultivation and cocaine production levels.  Much work remains; we’ll keep the progress going.  I know that we can. And finally, too, Colombia is a champion in this hemisphere of freedom.  Through our shared commitment to democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, we applaud how the Colombian Government responded to protests last year with professionalism, good planning, respect for human dignity and decency, and calls for a national dialogue.  The United States values this important friendship.  We will continue to prioritize it and prioritize our relationships here in the region, and we’ll continue to build partnerships for that hemisphere of freedom. Thank you, Mr. President, for being with me this morning. PRESIDENT DUQUE:  (In Spanish.) (Via interpreter)  Thank you very much, dear Secretary Pompeo.  I would also like first of all to express our solidarity and our condolences.  Our solidarity for the incident that occurred over the weekend, which was an accident and that affected some U.S. citizens, and naturally express our condolences for what has been a several-days search for embassy officials. As you all know, we have the national navy teams as well as all the local and coast guard services engaged in the corresponding investigation in an effort to reach fruitful results so as to find the body of the person that has not been found yet.  You know, Secretary Pompeo, that we have a shared solidarity in this respect and the people of Colombia regret the incident. In the second place, I would like to thank you for coming back to Colombia, and I want to thank you for visiting this school, the General Santander Police Academy.  This is a cadet training center of national police of Colombia – men and women, young men and women who have made the decision to follow the path to do good, to serve the community, to serve the people, to be willing to put their life on the line for others. So your visit today is something that we receive as homage to those 22 angels that were brutally and cruelly assassinated by terrorism, but they accompany us from the sky and they hope that we build in Colombia, but in other parts of the world, a concept of peace with legality where we see the rule of law, to impose exemplary sanctions against whoever resorts to these despicable actions.  And I thank you for participating in this homage.  And I believe that this hemispheric effort against terrorism is of paramount importance.  It’s important because there are too many Latin American countries, there will be many Latin American countries present here, and they will continue the efforts that started not just in Buenos Aires and in Santiago, the preparatory meeting, but in D.C. so that we have the best possible coordination to stand up to this global scourge. And once again, if this, Mr. Secretary Pompeo, should be a meeting where the countries of Latin America can progress in the implementation of all the instruments derived from the UN Security Council on the fight against terrorism, and underlining Resolution 1373 of the year 2001 whereby we all condemn, censor, sanction, and adopt the necessary actions whenever we see states sponsoring, protecting, or allowing that terrorist activities take place in their country. In this morning’s conversation, we were able to share our concerns regarding the support that the tyranny and dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro is giving to terrorists in its territory.  And I will address that topic during the conference.  But I am convinced that this meeting that also has TIAR member countries, will allow us to elevate those denouncements and sanctions, and the international community will be more strict in its combating terrorism. Allow me to add our deepfelt gratitude for last week’s visit by Dr. Adam Boehler, who reports to you directly.  And Adam is currently leading the new financial instrument for development that has been an evolution of what – it used to be the OPIC.  His visit to Colombia was very, very important because it was clear that the United States has an agenda to support the territorial approach development projects, as well as to build peace with legality by bringing financial and development tools to the regions to enhance the provision of public goods in regions harshly hit by violence and poverty.  I believe that the effort made last week with this very important announcement for coming years reaffirms that we will be in the regions with security and justice, and at the same time with the provision of public goods.  So we truly thank you for your support. I would also like to express – as you yourself have said – that the work in combating drugs will be maintained.  It is comprehensive, and it responds to a government policy and to a state policy that combine a multiplicity of tools.  But we can clearly say that in the year 2019 was a year where Colombia reached peak numbers in manual eradication and seizures, as well as achieving record numbers in destroying the illegal labs and capabilities of these illegal groups.  In 2019, we also made great strides in development projects in regions harshly hit by this scourge.  And there is yet a lot more to be done, but every day we need to improve our capabilities.  And I am convinced that this alliance of shared responsibility and coordination must be preserved in order to stand up to one of the worst scourges faced by our societies. Mr. Secretary Pompeo, allow me now to address the topic of the humanitarian assistance provided to Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.  U.S. support has been very important.  We need to mobilize more resources from the international community to service the migrant population, particularly the one arriving in our country seeking medical care or vaccination that know they cannot find in Venezuela.  We also need to mobilize additional efforts from the international community to deal with the malnutrition of the children arriving in our country.  That’s why we are so interested in the next few days urging and calling other countries to join us in our cause. But I would like to thank what has been true coordination to denounce the evil effects of the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro in the worst humanitarian and migration crisis that Latin America has seen in its recent history.  And we discussed it today, because we are talking about over 6 million people who have left Venezuela in recent years.  And Colombia has received 1.6 million Venezuelan migrants, and we know the fiscal, social, and economic pressure this brings with it.  But it is clear to us that the only way to solve this is when we see a credible transition taking place in Venezuela.  And hence the importance of what you and I discussed today and that we have announced publicly in recent days: the urgent plea to hold and call – to call and hold free, credible elections in Venezuela.  And for such free and credible elections will also go hand in hand with an economic reactivation plan, and there we see the entire international community converge around that. We stand firm in that regard, Secretary Pompeo, and we will do the same in all international instances.  We will repeat this plea, this call, and I would like to say that the progress made in TIAR to denounce all that the Venezuelan dictatorship is doing through its criminal structures must translate into pressuring that political transition as promptly as possible. The other topics we have looked at today are of the bilateral and hemispheric nature.  But allow me to close by saying the following: This meeting that has brought us here today, where we will talk about the binational agenda reaffirms the commitment of two countries to strengthen their trade, their investment, their joint work in favor of security, combating terrorism and combating narco-trafficking.  Colombia and the United States have had a historical alliance, and it will be preserved, maintained, and enhanced.  And today we are strengthened because we want to defend freedom in a country such as our sister nation of Venezuela. Thank you very much, Secretary Pompeo.  And once again, my solidarity with you for the incidents occurred in recent days.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.) Secretary Michael R. Pompeo At the Opening Plenary of the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial 01/20/2020 You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Secretary Michael R. Pompeo At the Opening Plenary of the Third Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial 01/20/2020 12:42 PM EST Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State Bogota, Colombia General Santander Police Academy SECRETARY POMPEO:  Good morning.  Buenos dias, everyone.  Thanks for the Colombians’ gracious hosting of this event.  I was very encouraged how we grew our regional focus on terrorism when we had our meeting in July.  The tough stand that we took, we united.  It was proof that we intend to build out a hemisphere of freedom together. Today’s effort continues that work.  It’s very fitting that we gather today in this place.  Only one year ago not yards from where we’re sitting, ELN terrorists carried out a deadly attack on the grounds of this police academy, killing and wounding dozens of promising cadets.  The ceremony we just held with the family members of the victims was quite moving, and reminds us all of the work that we have in front of us. It hit home for me just as it did for Colombia.  Several of the victims were attending the academy on scholarships from the United States.  On behalf of the American people, I send my condolences to those victims and to their loved ones. That attack underscored how terrorism doesn’t discriminate by nationality.  It doesn’t care; it threatens all of us.  The ELN killed or injured cadets from Colombia, from Ecuador, from Panama.  We must continue to combat terrorism wherever it rears its ugly head. And we’re not just referring to the people who detonate bombs and pull triggers.  I also mean the networks that facilitate those acts.  Take, for example, the Maduro regime, which has harbored supporters of terrorist groups like ELN and FARC dissidents who have helped drive the growth of violence and illicit trafficking in the country.  These groups must lay down their arms, and the Maduro regime must b ... [Message clipped]  View entire message ReplyForward