Criticism of President Iván Duque for Colombia's economic support to Ukraine

At the request of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for States to send support to Ukraine in order to care for the population affected by the invasion of Russia, the President of Colombia, Ivan Duque, announced that he would send financial support to that country.

Although the high president did not reveal the figure, some national media said that Colombia's donation to Ukraine would amount to $100,000.

“In response to @NATO's call to allied and partner countries to join in sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine in these difficult times, we have decided to make a donation, through UNHCR (@Refugees), to assist the affected civilian population in that country,” Duque announced through social networks.

Faced with this news, criticism on social networks was not long in coming. The wave of comments is aimed at the lack of resources that is visible in several areas of the country, where poverty and hunger persist.

On digital platforms, they questioned Iván Duque for announcing donations to another country. Although the humanitarian crisis that Ukraine is experiencing due to the invasion is evident, netizens assured that many Colombians die of hunger and those resources would serve more in the national territory.

“I think that in Chocó, in La Guajira, in Cauca, in Putumayo, in El Guaviare, in Barranquilla, in Cartagena and in every region of the country we have a Ukraine, where children continue to die of hunger and thirst... This guy doesn't have any sanity and sensibility,” wrote one netizen on the same social network.

Another question on the platform is: “That Duque sends aid to Ukrainians while women, children and the elderly die of hunger in La Guajira and Chocó is also racism. @IvanDuque will go down in history as an ignorant, despot, careerist, racist, thief, mediocre, faint-hearted but above all as a tyrant”.

“Those 100,000 dollars would be much more useful in La Guajira to alleviate the thirst and hunger of indigenous communities... Anyway... another one about Uribism”, says another comment.

Duque would be managing conversation with the president of Ukraine

According to information from the newspaper El Tiempo, the president of Colombia is not only willing to send financial donations to Ukraine, but would be waiting for a telephone meeting with his counterpart, Volodymir Zelensky.

Apparently, the meeting had already been scheduled for March 18; however, a security council that the Ukrainian president was supposed to attend could not contact Ivan Duque.

So far, the date and the issues to be dealt with at that telephone meeting between the presidents are unknown.

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