President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the U.S. intends to designate Colombia a major non-NATO ally in a move that will strengthen military and economic ties between the two countries.
The announcement came after a meeting with Colombian President Iván Duque at the White House.
“This is a recognition of the unique and close relationship between our countries,” Biden told reporters.
The designation will give Colombia special access to military and economic programs, but it does not provide security guarantees like those extended to NATO members.
Qatar received the same designation Thursday, the White House said.
More than a dozen countries are major non-NATO allies, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, New Zealand, the Philippines and Tunisia.
Biden met with Duque as the U.S is looking to firm up its international ties after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Colombia is a strategic U.S. ally in the region and a staunch opponent of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. At the same time, Duque has expressed some concerns over talks between the Biden administration and Maduro after senior U.S. officials secretly traveled to Venezuela over the weekend. The trip, the first time a White House official had traveled to Venezuela in over 20 years, came as the Biden administration was weighing a ban on Russian oil imports.
The talks included a discussion about U.S. citizens who are detained in Venezuela and the possibility of easing oil sanctions.
After the weekend meeting, in an apparent goodwill gesture, the Venezuelan government released two Americans who had been jailed there. A senior Biden administration official said that at no point was there an offer to exchange oil for the detained Americans.
Venezuela is one of Russia’s closest allies in the region. The economic and political turmoil on Maduro’s watch has sent millions of Venezuelans fleeing; over 1.8 million Venezuelans now live in Colombia. Duque offered temporary protected status to Venezuelans last year, allowing them to work in the country legally and giving them access to health care.
The U.S. pumped more than $10 billion in aid to the South American country in the early 2000s through a program called Plan Colombia, designed to fight the drug trade. Colombia remains one of the world’s biggest producers of cocaine.
A polarized Colombia has congressional elections and presidential primaries scheduled for Sunday. Polls indicate that leftist presidential candidate Gustavo Petro has a wide lead ahead of the May 29 general election. The poverty levels and jobless rate in Colombia have grown during the coronavirus pandemic, and inflation has risen, as well.
Duque is term-limited from seeking four more years in office.
CORRECTION (March 10, 2022, 9:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated a condition of Colombia’s designation as a major non-NATO ally. The designation does not provide security guarantees like those extended to NATO members.
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