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[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 629 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 629

Celebrating the 200th anniversary of United States diplomatic relations 
                             with Colombia.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 11 (legislative day, May 10), 2022

Mr. Rubio (for himself, Mr. Coons, Mr. Risch, Mr. Scott of Florida, and 
Mr. Cruz) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
Celebrating the 200th anniversary of United States diplomatic relations 
                             with Colombia.

Whereas, on August 7, 1819, Colombia (formerly known as ``The Great Colombia'') 
        concluded its campaign for independence from Spain with the Battle of 
        Boyaca;
 Whereas, on March 18, 1822, the United States House of Representatives approved 
        two resolutions that recognized the independence of Colombia and 
        appropriated funds for the establishment of a diplomatic mission in 
        Colombia;
 Whereas, on June 19, 1822, the United States and Colombia formally established 
        diplomatic relations, and the accreditation of Colombia's Manuel Torres 
        made Torres the first charge d'affaires from a Latin American country to 
        the United States;
 Whereas, on December 16, 1823, the United States appointed its first charge 
        d'affaires to Colombia, Richard Clough Anderson, Jr.;
 Whereas, on October 3, 1824, the United States and Colombia signed the first 
        commercial agreement between the two countries, the Anderson-Gual 
        Treaty, which entered into force in May 1825;
 Whereas, in 1943, during World War II, Colombia declared war on the Axis 
        Powers, fighting in cooperation with the United States and the Allies;
 Whereas, in 1945, Colombia was one of 51 nations that participated in the San 
        Francisco Conference and ratified the Charter of the United Nations;
 Whereas, in 1947, during the Ninth International Conference of American States 
        in Bogota, Colombia, 21 countries, including the United States and 
        Colombia, adopted the Charter of the Organization of American States, 
        the American Treaty on Pacific Settlement, and the American Declaration 
        on the Rights and Duties of Man;
 Whereas, from 1950 to 1954, Colombia was the only country in Latin America that 
        sent armed forces to South Korea to join the United Nations' effort to 
        defend South Korea against North Korea;
Whereas the United States enacted the Andean Trade Preference Act (19 U.S.C. 
        3201 et seq.) on December 4, 1991, and the Andean Trade Promotion and 
        Drug Eradication Act (title XXXI of division C of Public Law 107-210; 
        116 Stat. 1023) on August 6, 2002, granting duty-free access to a wide 
        range of exports from Colombia and other Andean countries, with the 
        objective of promoting commercial relations and combating illicit 
        narcotics production and trafficking;
 Whereas, in 2000, the United States and Colombia launched Plan Colombia, a 
        transformational security and economic development initiative to reduce 
        crime, narcotics trafficking, and violence and strengthen State capacity 
        in Colombia;
 Whereas, in April 2012, the United States and Colombia launched the United 
        States-Colombia Action Plan on Regional Security Cooperation, using the 
        lessons learned from Plan Colombia to counter the proliferation of 
        transnational criminal organizations throughout the Western Hemisphere;
 Whereas, on May 15, 2012, the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement 
        entered into force, which expanded commercial ties, economic growth, and 
        employment opportunities in both the United States and Colombia;
 Whereas the United States is Colombia's leading trade partner;
 Whereas, on June 25, 2013, Colombia signed an agreement with the North Atlantic 
        Treaty Organization (NATO) on security cooperation and information 
        sharing and in May 2018, became the first and only global partner 
        country of NATO in Latin America;
Whereas, since 2012, the United States and Colombia have cooperated to bring 
        peace and end a half century of armed conflict in Colombia, the longest 
        armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere;
 Whereas, since 2018, Colombia and the United States have led the Orion 
        international naval campaign to combat maritime narcotics trafficking, 
        and the jointly led campaign has strengthened the narcotics interdiction 
        capabilities of 38 countries and 88 institutions, including in northern 
        Central America;
 Whereas, on April 28, 2020, Colombia became the 37th member and third country 
        in Latin America to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
        Development (OECD);
 Whereas Colombia is one of the most consistent and reliable allies of the 
        United States because of Colombia's support for shared diplomatic and 
        security objectives;
 Whereas Colombians and Colombian Americans residing in the United States have 
        greatly contributed to enriching the society, culture, economy of, and 
        science developed by, the United States and have helped further 
        strengthen the ties between the United States and Colombia;
Whereas, on February 8, 2021, Colombia granted temporary protected status to 
        more than 1,800,000 Venezuelans for 10 years, a measure that was 
        welcomed by the United States and the international community and will 
        ensure Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia have access to 
        health care, education, housing, and formal employment opportunities;
Whereas, following that announcement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken 
        commended Colombia's humanitarian leadership and innovative response to 
        the worst refugee crisis in Latin America; and
 Whereas, on March 10, 2022, the United States announced it would designate 
        Colombia as a major non-NATO ally: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) celebrates the 200th anniversary of diplomatic 
        relations between the United States and Colombia;
            (2) recognizes the critical role that Colombia plays in 
        promoting stability and prosperity in the Western Hemisphere;
            (3) recognizes the vital strategic alliance between the 
        United States and Colombia, built on a shared commitment to 
        democracy;
            (4) celebrates the contributions made by Colombians and 
        Colombian Americans to the United States;
            (5) reaffirms the steadfast support of the people of the 
        United States for the people of Colombia in their pursuit of 
        peace, stability, and prosperity; and
            (6) encourages strengthening cooperation with Colombia in 
        areas such as technology, education, energy transition, and 
        nearshoring, as well as in joint efforts toward the protection 
        of democracy in the Western Hemisphere.
                                 <all>
```