Did Marco backpedal or is this a case of misinterpretation- PB/TK
Florida’s Marco Rubio backpedals on speech on Colombia peace plan – By Franco Ordonez l May 12 2017
WASHINGTON – Two days after telling Latin American leaders that the United States should support the “Peace Colombia” agreement, Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted Thursday that he has never “backed” the controversial Colombian peace deal, which has divided residents of that South America country – and apparently South Florida.
“Puzzled by this article. Speech never said I ‘backed’ the #Colombia peace deal. Said continued aid with conditions,” Rubio tweeted.
Rubio would not agree to an interview clarifying his tweets or statements, but the Florida Republican was responding to an article published in McClatchy’s Miami Herald and Nuevo Herald that detailed a speech he gave Tuesday at the U.S. State Department on the importance of U.S. engagement in the Western Hemisphere.
“For far too long we have neglected our partners in the region,” Rubio said then. “We need to build on deepening the ties we have with countries like Canada, Mexico, and Colombia.”
He went on to urge the United States to maintain its commitment to peace and prosperity in Colombia “by reassuring the Colombian people that the United States supports the implementation of Peace Colombia, but that it will be conditioned on full compliance of the agreement by the FARC.”
The speech couldn’t have come at a more sensitive time for Colombia. President Juan Manuel Santos is due to arrive in Washington next week to meet with President Donald Trump about the agreement, which is major issue as potential presidential candidates jockey for position among Colombians in both South America and Miami.
Continue to miamiherald.com article: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/article150058732.html
