Rubio jokes about De la Espriella: “He went crazy and became president”

Marco Rubio joked that Abelardo de la Espriella “went crazy and became president” as the U.S. secretary of state recalled knowing Colombia’s leader long before he entered politics.

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It is unusual to travel to a country and meet a head of state and president whom one has known for years, before he became president, before he discovered politics.

Speaking to reporters in Barranquilla after meeting De la Espriella, Rubio said it was unusual to travel to a country and meet a head of state whom he had known for years. The two men had even sat at the same table at a wedding in Florida, he said.

Rubio described De la Espriella, a wealthy far-right lawyer who took office as Colombia’s president a month ago, as “an energetic man, a man with vision” and “brave.” He said the president was confronting the complex situation inherited by his government, referring to the previous administration of left-wing President Gustavo Petro and the damage caused by the magnitude 7.4 earthquake on Aug. 10.

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He went crazy and became president, became a politician.

The U.S. diplomat also welcomed the possibility of rebuilding relations between Washington and Bogotá. He called those ties natural because of the countries’ personal, cultural and economic links.

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An energetic man, a man with vision.