Ivan Duque on the Venezuelan Refugee Situation

IVAN DUQUE: Christiane, this is a big problem. I mean this is the – this is the most horrible migration crisis Latin America has seen its history,

maybe.

It’s one of the most terrifying humanitarian crisis. There’s a dictatorship that has destructed all the economy, that has a annihilated (ph) liberty, that has destroyed independent powers. And people are all just running — so I have decided that we’re not going to close the boarder, we have to give them support. The source of the problem is the dictatorship and I think all countries in the international community must isolate the dictatorship and open the group for the return of democracy.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Well, it’s no secret that you and President Maduro do not particularly have a high opinion of each other, you don’t think that he’s the right person, you’ve just said and he has been personally some-what insulting to you. Let me just play what President Maduro said.

NICOLAS MADURO (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Ivan Duque with his little angelic face, is a devil. He puts on an angelic face, but he is a devil, and he walks around with his little angelic hand asking for money. Ivan Duque is afraid of me, and I challenge him to a public debate, whenever and wherever he wants.

AMANPOUR: So I don’t know how you respond to that rhetoric, but also they have accused Colombian diplomats as well as from Chile and Mexico of being behind the attempted assassination on Nicolas Maduro.

DUQUE: Oh, he accused my predecessor and he accused the past administration and he was supposed to be very close to them. That’s what he said in the past, I’m not going to get in to a personal discussion with Maduro. I mean, my predecessor, is because they’re (inaudible). There’s a dictatorship, there’s alienation (ph) of all the economic apparatus and there’s a humanitarian and migration crisis that is evident in the eyes of the world. So my call is for international community to do something. The absence of an action in the last years, has made that dictatorship stronger. Now we need to isolate it and make the Venezuelan people return to liberties and have a vibrant (ph) democracy.

AMANPOUR: Does that something include a military intervention? You saw the New York Times had some exclusive report just this month about Rebels, people opposing Maduro, talking to the United States about a potential intervention and a potential plot to overthrow Maduro. You know, I want to know what you say about that but particularly because right here, President Trump talked about it in his meeting with you. Can I just play that? OK, first tell me —

DUQUE: The thing is I have never gave a favorable opinion to a military action because that’s what the dictator wants.