00:00And now on other topics in the context of the diplomatic tensions between Colombia and the United States,
00:05we have a special guest today, Jonathan Mosquera, member of the October 12th platform collective in the United Kingdom.
00:13Hello, Jonathan. Welcome to From the South.
00:16Hi. Thank you.
00:19Well, President Gustavo Petro has reacted to the actions of the United States in the Caribbean
00:25and also its attempts to disabilize Venezuela.
00:27For this reason, the U.S. government has increased its hostilities towards Colombia.
00:32How would you evaluate Gustavo Petro's leadership in this context?
00:38I think that that is a Petro's planning with the foreign axis.
00:45There is a movement now worldwide in which imperialism is pushing everywhere because they're getting more desperate.
00:52So Petro explained that it is not coincidence.
00:55And he explained in different species that it's not coincidence that what they experimented in Gaza,
01:00he did say the bombs were coming our way.
01:03And he explained also that this war will be an experiment.
01:08What Petro was trying to explain today, in my opinion, is that we have to get rid of so many myths.
01:17The war on drugs.
01:18He explained very clearly how the rich is a war on the poor.
01:22How the drug dealers are in Miami and everything.
01:27They don't get targeted.
01:27But he also explained the real purpose when he said that the so-called aid was withdrawn when Colombia was really more effective against the drugs.
01:37So it was never about drugs.
01:39That's the most important thing about drugs.
01:41And I think Petro is very good at explaining it.
01:44It's that it's got nothing to do with drugs.
01:45It's got to do with domination.
01:47Because the moment there was a disobedience for a Colombian president, they withdrew the so-called aid.
01:53They also withdrawn the weapons that were looking after the president.
01:57And then Petro explained, well, we're going to have to sort out our own defense.
02:01Petro is sending a message, in my opinion, that it's time in history now that Latin America and the oppressed nations of the world get rid of all this shock of imperialism.
02:12Because they are getting more aggressive and it's time to defend ourselves.
02:17Also, the presence of U.S. warships in the Caribbean has resulted as well in dozens of deaths.
02:22You were mentioning these circumstances.
02:25Also, including Colombians among the deaths without any evidence that they are actually linked to drug trafficking.
02:32In the face of this threat, how can Colombia defend its internal interests without yielding to the pressures from the White House?
02:42Yes, there is only one way to do this.
02:47We have to defend our national sovereignty.
02:50We won that right when we defeated the Spanish crown more than 200 years ago.
02:53Petro continues talking about the Sword of Bolivar.
02:57But before talking about evidence, I don't think the point is even if there are drug dealers or not.
03:02That isn't the point.
03:04The point is the violations of our sovereignty and the normalization that imperialism now is claiming for itself the right to call Maduro a drug dealer.
03:12To invoke the Noriega threat because they donated before to Panama.
03:17To them, they used the Nobel Peace Prize to elevate Maria Corina and create artificially, you know, an opposition figure, et cetera.
03:27It's all this part of the world moves.
03:30So, really, whether they were drug dealers or no, is not a point.
03:33And the Colombian people have to respond by being united and calling this by what it is.
03:38It's also linked to the sanctions against Venezuela and Cuba, the brutal blockade on Cuba, the Israeli prerogative to attack their allies like Qatar, their enemies like Yemen.
03:53They're kidnapping people on the sea, Colombian citizens.
03:55It's all about the imperial prerogative, regime change in Venezuela, controlling Colombia, et cetera.
04:03Also, Gustavo Petro has condemned U.S. threats against Venezuela from the perspective of regional support.
04:09How does this position is benefiting Venezuela and how it can also influence the alliance dynamics within Latin America in this context of potential threat for the region?
04:20Petro Petro has been defending Venezuela from the point of view of?
04:29From the point of view, I was mentioning that Gustavo Petro has been defending Venezuela's integrity and self-determination in the context of a potential action, military action against the country.
04:43How would you describe the support that has been given by Colombia from a regional perspective?
04:48I think Petro is doing the right thing, and I think that actually most of the leaders are doing more or less the right thing.
04:58There is obviously a big exception, Argentina-Milay, which is a puppet, and it's a stooge of imperialism.
05:06But I think that in general, the situation needs to be more understood, more urgently.
05:13Like, for example, Petro explained that we need to get on our own weapons.
05:17But I think that the question about the soldiers, I think we need to give a different answer.
05:23These American soldiers are a threat to us.
05:26They are there to threaten Venezuela.
05:28That's the only reason the American soldiers are in Colombia is to threaten Venezuela.
05:31Maybe one day they want to threaten Ecuador or Panama or a government that they don't like inside Colombia.
05:37There is not a possibility in which the Colombian people could benefit from any single American soldier on their soul.
05:45Jonathan, one last question.
05:47What do you think should be the next step for Latin America to handle this situation, both in terms of diplomacy and also security?
05:55I think in diplomacy, they're doing what they can, you know, and they're trying to organize different alliances.
06:03Petro talked about alliances with China, with Europe, et cetera.
06:08So I think diplomatically, they're doing what they can.
06:12And I'm more concerned about the people.
06:14This affects the people.
06:15Petro's plan, so the poor people are the first ones to be accepted.
06:19And I think that to achieve peace, the poor, we don't want world.
06:23We're always the losers, but the oppressed, we need to make it clear to the oppressors that we're ready to defend ourselves so that they think twice before the war crimes.
06:32And that means we need to mobilize support on the streets.
06:36There is an opportunity here in London.
06:38Next Tuesday, outside the American Embassy, the community of Latin Americans are calling for a demonstration in defense of Venezuela, in defense of Colombia, and in defense of Latin America.
06:48It's called Hands of Latin America.
06:51Next year, they'll say the American Embassy at 6 p.m.
06:54Bring your flags, bring whatever.
06:55We need to defend, you know, they need to understand that we're ready to defend ourselves.
07:00And that is the best way to avoid a war, to send a message that we are ready to defend ourselves.
07:04And that is the best way to defend ourselves.
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