Amata Leads Foreign Affairs CODEL to Colombia Presidential Inauguration, City Struck by Devastating Earthquake After Departure
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata, traveling at the request of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), led the Radewagen CODEL with Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) over the weekend to Colombia for the new President’s inauguration, ensuring that the Committee was appropriately represented there.
Congresswoman Amata and Ranking Member Meeks at the ceremonies in Colombia
Just hours after their arrival back in Washington, D.C., that region of Colombia was struck by a major 7.4 magnitude earthquake, causing many injuries, 111 deaths as of the early news reports, and the destruction of at least 20 buildings just in Cali alone.
“My deepest condolences to the people of Colombia as they mourn, rescue and then face the long recovery effort from this severe disaster,” said Congresswoman Amata. “It’s a shock to see them go from their welcoming greetings to us and their celebratory occasion just a day before, to this major natural disaster and loss of life. They will need prayer and support.”
Congresswoman Amata and Congressman Meeks attended the inauguration of President Abelardo de la Espriella in the city of Cali, near the Pacific coast in the western part of the country. Congressman Meeks is the Committee’s Democratic leader, who has built seniority, serving since 1998, and is on track to be Dean of the New York House delegation in 2027. Also in attendance were other U.S. officials including newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was officially sworn in Monday after the trip.
Inauguration in Colombia
“Colombia is a $50 billion trade partner with the United States, as they import U.S. refined oil and corn, and export coffee and crude oil,” said Congresswoman Amata. “They are part of the Pacific Alliance economic integration, and as a Pacific coastal country, are located at one edge of the vast Indo-Pacific region that is essential to U.S. and worldwide commercial and security measures.”
While there, Congresswoman Amata took part in a roundtable with Mayor of Cali Alejandro Eder, and the Civil Society at the Universidad Santiago de Cali, where she gave a statement.
Amata’s Remarks in Colombia
Talofa lava and good morning to you all. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for graciously hosting us in your beautiful city of Cali.
My name is Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, Congresswoman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
I’m proud to represent my home of American Samoa, a beautiful group of seven islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Many people do not know that, just like Colombia, the United States of America stretches into the Southern Hemisphere. American Samoa is in fact the only American soil south of the equator.
Our two countries share something else in common, as well. Both the USA and Colombia have long and proud histories of democratic institutions, constitutional government, and peaceful transfers of power.
This shared commitment is a large part of why Congress considers Colombia to be one of our closest Latin American allies—if not the closest.
It is such a deep honor to visit Colombia on the special occasion of the Presidential Inauguration—alongside my colleague and good friend Gregory Meeks, the Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I want to congratulate President De La Espriella and his administration on his election and inauguration.
And I want to express my sincere congratulations for the successful exercise of your democratic rights. Colombia’s long and notable tradition of republican self-government continues!
When a new government is sworn in, as we had the pleasure of witnessing yesterday, it heralds a promising new opportunity for our countries to work together on shared challenges.
Perhaps the most important shared challenge the U.S. and Colombia face is, of course, on the security front.
We know Colombia is facing a difficult moment, where violence caused by armed drug trafficking organizations and terrorist groups continues to take the lives of innocent people. This concerns us greatly. Our heart goes out to you.
And this is not only a problem for Colombia or for the region. Rather, it is directly linked to the United States—because every year tens of thousands of Americans die of cocaine overdoses.
This is a deep tragedy for both countries. And it has served as the basis for our incredibly close security cooperation since the 1990s.
Although the previous administration had at times a turbulent relationship with the United States, the strong institutional ties between our two nations endured.
In January, the U.S. Congress enacted a foreign assistance bill, which contained nearly 200 million dollars earmarked solely for Colombia. Much of this will go toward building up Colombia’s security forces to better combat the armed groups who profit off illegal drug trafficking.
There is still much we can do is to improve our security coordination—not only at the national level, but also especially at the sub-national level. Mayors and municipal leaders like yourselves are on the very front lines. You know best what the solutions are to your security challenges.
As this distinguished group knows well, firm government action against criminals and armed organizations is necessary, but so too is the critical work of civil society.
This includes alleviating poverty, creating economic opportunity for those in need, conducting prevention programs for youths that are at risk of gang recruitment, and ensuring the human rights of all Colombians are protected.
These are essential things. I commend your good work on this front. The United States stands ready to help. A large portion of our foreign assistance to Colombia is designated for just this—in particular, for Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities whose regions are often suffering the brunt of criminal violence.
Before I close, let me mention another shared challenge. For the first time in a long time, Venezuela stands on the precipice of a new prosperity future. If our two countries work together, I fully believe that we can help Venezuela achieve a true transition to democracy and prosperity.
This would benefit not only the millions of Venezuelans residing in this country, which Colombia has so generously welcomed in, but the entire region.
Like Colombia, the United States can be very politically polarized. But as you can see by the bipartisan nature of this Congressional Delegation, both Republicans and Democrats in Congress place a very high value on the U.S.-Colombia relationship.
It is a relationship that has lasted two centuries. May it continue to prosper for another 200 years!
Thank you, or as we say in American Samoa, Fa’afetai tele lava. May God bless America, and may God bless the Republic of Colombia.
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