Former President of the United States George Bush was decorated by the Duque government with the Boyacá Cross

This Tuesday, April 12, another foreign citizen received the Boyacá Cross, one of the largest awards given by the national government. This time, it was former US President George W. Bush, whom Colombia's ambassador to the United States, Juan Carlos Pinzón, decorated.

The facts were reported by Pinzón himself, as well as by the US Embassy in Colombia. The recognition was given in the framework of the celebration of 200 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

“On behalf of the Colombian people and President Iván Duque, we honor President George W. Bush with the Great Cross of Boyacá. In the framework of the celebration of 200 years of Colombia-USA relationship. His contribution to the country in defense of democracy and economic development is recognized,” said the Colombian diplomat through his Twitter account.

For its part, the Embassy of Joe Biden's government released the photo of the former US president with the Colombian official and highlighted the “service” that Bush carried out for Colombia when he ruled the United States.

It became known that the Iván Duque government decorated Bush for three special reasons: it strengthened the fight against terrorism in Colombia, allowed the negotiation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States nation and for its support and visits to the national territory.

“Democracy must be ensured in Colombia for stability in the region,” said George W. Bush when he received the Boyacá Cross. Moreover, during the event, several international issues were also addressed, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the panorama facing the continent Latin American currently.

It should be noted that former President Bush worked very closely with former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, during his first administration in our country. In fact, it is known that today's natural head of the Democratic Center included the former US head of state in Plan Colombia, which was one of the main projects that Uribe promoted when he was in charge of the country.

For now, neither President Duque nor Vice President and Chancellor Marta Lucia Ramírez have referred to the decoration that Ambassador Juan Carlos Pinzón presented to him by the former president of the Americans this week.

The presentation of this award will be given to other characters both from Colombia and other countries around the world who have been related to the development of the nation. In fact, according to sources from the Casa de Nariño, the next one to receive the Boyacá Cross will be Condoleezza Rice, former US Secretary of State, during the Bush administration.

Another recipient of that medal was Colombian businessman Mario Hernández. At the end of March of this year, President Duque went to the factory of the Santandereano to decorate him with the Order of Boyacá.

In a short speech, Duque thanked Hernández for his more than 40 years of business experience in Colombia, where he has contributed to the country's economy, as well as the employability of hundreds of citizens.

“He likes to call himself the flea arrecha, I would rather say the innovative, transforming, entrepreneurial, patriotic flea,” said the head of state when highlighting the 80-year-old businessman. In addition, he filled him with other praise.

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