Former Colombian Ambassador blasts Biden administration for meeting with Venezuelan regime

Former Colombian Ambassador to the United States Francisco Santos took to Twitter on Monday to criticize the Biden administration’s visit to Caracas last Saturday and demand that Colombian President Ivan Duque also call out Washington’s diplomatic change of course.

According to Santos, the diplomatic exchange between U.S. officials and the regime of Nicolas Maduro was insulting to Latin American democracies and warned that President Duque and Vice President Marta Lucia Ramirez should not remain “silent.”

Habrá algún tipo de protesta del gobierno colombiano con la visita de altos funcionarios del gobierno norteamericano al mafioso @NicolasMaduro ¿Se van a quedar callados con esa afrenta después de trabajar 4 años juntos en la política sobre Venezuela? @IvanDuque @mluciaramirez

— Pacho Santos (@PachoSantosC) March 7, 2022

"Will there be any kind of protest from the Colombian government over the U.S. government’s visit with mafia boss Nicolas Maduro? Will it remain silent after such an affront?”

The United States and Venezuela severed diplomatic relations in 2019, and Washington closed its embassy in Caracas after accusing Maduro of electoral fraud. Soon after, the U.S. government recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president.

The U.S. has since imposed a series of sanctions on Caracas to force Maduro out. The measures include an embargo, in place since April 2019, that prevents Venezuela from trading its oil in American markets.

Santos' comments came days before the first official meeting scheduled between President Biden and his Colombian counterpart. The Colombian president is currently in Houston where he met with John Kerry, the U.S. special envoy for climate, to discuss the country's goals of reducing CO2 emissions  by 51% by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2050.

Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Marco Rubio also expressed their displeasure over the trip of Biden administration officials to Caracas.

"While Putin ruthlessly murders women & children, the Biden Admin is trying to make deals with other murderous tyrants in #VZ & #Iran. Trading one evil for another is despicable & extremely shortsighted. Biden must stand for freedom & human rights, & not enrich malevolent regimes," Diaz-Balart tweeted.

Similarly, Sen. Rubio blasted the Biden administration for considering importing Venezuelan oil.

“Venezuela's oil industry is a disaster that produces 10% of what Cuba exports. Ukraine is just an excuse for Obama's pro-left ex-employees who wanted to get closer to Maduro and Cuba," Rubio posted on his Twitter account.

Las charlas secretas de #Biden con el régimen d #Maduro no se trata d reemplazar el petróleo d 🇷🇺.La industria petrolera d 🇻🇪 es un desastre q produce el 10% de lo q exporta 🇨🇺.🇺🇦 es solo una excusa para los ex-empleados pro-izquierdistas d Obama q querían acercarse a Maduro y 🇨🇺

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 7, 2022