Obama shows 'lack of respect' for Colombia: Former US official

[Judi Lynn]

Obama shows 'lack of respect' for Colombia: Former US official
Monday, 27 June 2011 08:00
Stephen Manker

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/2011/06/roger_noriega2.jpg

The former U.S. assistant secretary of state says President Barack Obama is showing "a lack of respect" for Colombia, in an interview with newspaper El Tiempo.

"I do not understand the lack of respect from the administration of President Obama to Colombia. It is very rare. The other South American countries are watching how we treat our friends. But in my opinion, President Santos has managed these relationships appropriately," said former assistant secretary of state Roger Noriega.

According to the official, drug trafficking and "authoritarian populism" are the two great challenges facing the Americas.

"Authoritarian populism...is a model aggressively promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. We have to recognize that Chavez and the Chavez regime has an alliance with drug traffickers, Iran and terrorist groups. This combination is very, very dangerous, and he has to talk candidly about what is happening."

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/17229-obama-doesnt-respect-colombia-former-colombian-secretary-of-state.html

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Wikipedia note on Noriega's career, from Wikipedia:

From 1994 to 1997, Noriega returned to Capitol Hill as a senior staff member New York Congressman Benjamin Gilman for the House Committee on International Relations. Subsequently, he became a senior staff member of Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In 1996, Noriega co-authored the Helms-Burton law which tightened the 40-year-old embargo on Cuba.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Noriega