Publisher’s note: Watch Camilo Igana’s full interview with Evan Duque on Wednesday, September 7 at 9:00 PM (Miami time) 8:00 PM (Bogota time) on CNN en Español.

(CNN Spanish) – Evan Duke He assures that he does not think about failure, on the contrary, says that he is a persistent person. Now the former president of Colombia He gave his first interview since leaving Casa de Nariño, exactly a month ago, on August 7. Duque spoke with CNN en Español’s Camilo Ijana and mentioned how satisfied he is, according to him, having achieved more than 80% of the development plan he proposed and more than 90% of the government’s plan.

But he also spoke of “a great disappointment”.

“I am very disappointed that in my four years in office I have not witnessed the fall of a dictatorship Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela,” Duke said.

During his administration, marked by the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign policy has focused on fighting Nicolás Maduro’s regime in the neighboring country. “I confronted these thieves,” Duque asserts, before claiming that he was the one who reported it to the ICC.

We share this diplomatic fence with many countries. And of course, while I’m frustrated that I haven’t seen his downfall in my four years, I’m also clear that defense and democracy don’t end with the presidency.”

“Tension is better than giving up our lands.”

The former president referred to what he sees as another dictatorship, that of Daniel Ortega, in the context of the Colombia-Nicaragua maritime dispute that goes back long before he took office as Uribe president in 2018.

“A century of tensions is better than ceding Colombian territory to the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega,” Duque said, noting that Colombia “can only adjust its borders through a treaty ratified by the Congress of the Republic of Colombia.”

It is worth noting that the file The International Criminal Court of Justice ruled in April This year, Colombia should “immediately stop” patrolling and trying to control fishing activities and maritime investigations in parts of the western Caribbean that the court says are part of Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone, Reuters reported.

Despite this, Duque’s position remains consistent in this regard: “Colombia cannot have its sovereignty, let alone a dictatorship that subjects an entire people to disgrace, with contempt. We make our sovereignty respectable and tension is better than ceding our lands.”

“I hope the four-year presidential term will be respected.”

Duque’s mandate gave way to a left-wing government in Colombia, an unprecedented event in the country, and the change of political course was achieved with the election of Gustavo Petro. When asked about the current government, the former president said he considers it relevant “that it recognizes that governing Colombia requires the formulation of consensus, and that ideological assumptions cannot be imposed. I think this will be the biggest challenge he will face over the next few months.”

Why did the left come to power in Colombia? Duque asserts that when he faced Gustavo Petro at the polls, he won him by more than two million votes. But in addition, this is not the first time that he has run for a presidential election, it was practically the third time. And if you look back, the left in Colombia was already going through a process of climbing, Duque said.

He adds, “I also think there was a lack in this election of a better counter to ideas, especially in the second presidential run. And I think that, without a doubt, led to this victory.”

On whether he thinks Pietro will be re-elected, Duque is blunt: “What I hope is that the four-year term of office will be respected, just as I do, because I have never had arguments to say that it took more than four years to implement my government plan. I have I have adapted the plan of my government to the constitutional period that Colombia has, which is four years, and I believe that this principle must be respected by the current president and those who will come later.”