Trumps first visit to Latin America may get cool reception

PRESIDENT  Donald Trump’s first visit to Latin America will be for the Summit of the Americas in Lima Peru, April 13-14

He will then make a stopover in Colombia, to meet with President Juan Manuel Santos. There will be heightened tensions between the many heads of state and President Trump following his decision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on most of the South American nations.

Pundits are speculating that it would be surprising for the president to refrain from making a  statement on the situation in Venezuela, where he has recently stated the United States is not ruling out military options to resolve the humanitarian crisis. Military intervention would require the cooperation of neighboring Colombia as a staging point.

Meanwhile, President Santos announced this week on state television that he was sending his chief negotiator back to Ecuador to try and restart talks with the Marxist ELN (National Liberation Army) guerrilla group. In January, the ELN bombed a police station and killed 8 police officers and injured 47 others. Santos did not specify a start date for the renewed talks.