AOC Wraps Up Latin American Tour by Meeting with Colombia’s Far Left, Ex-Guerrilla President

A delegation of “progressive” Democrats led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) met with Colombian radical leftist President Gustavo Petro on Monday on the last leg of a tour of friendly socialist governments in Latin America.

During the encounter, Petro proposed to build an “alliance for life and nature” with the group and a “change of the economic system” to overcome “climate change.”

Colombia was the last stop on the Democrat delegation’s weeklong Latin American tour sponsored by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) think tank. The lawmakers also visited Brazil and Chile, where they held meetings with far-left Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Brazilian government officials.

AOC was reportedly accompanied by fellow Representatives Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Gregorio Casar (D-TX), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL), and Senator Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) Chief of Staff Misty Rebik.

The Latin American trip, according to Ocasio-Cortez, sought to “tackle issues of migration, climate, and democracy” by holding encounters with three of the region’s far-left governments.

AOC stated that it is evident that “we have hope that we can focus more on human rights, labor rights and unite not only the progressive movement but the Latin world and change the narratives about Latin America and Colombia.”

The delegation also met with Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez over the weekend to discuss subjects such as Colombia’s new Ministry of Equality and Equity, racial justice, climate change and the Colombian government’s “total peace” initiative.

Prior to their arrival in Colombia, the Democrat delegation traveled to Chile last week, where they met with President Boric to discuss “different matters of interest,” such as democracy, climate change, and social rights.