Letter to VP Harris

May 17, 2021 Vice President Kamala Harris Dear VP Harris If we may take a few minutes of your time, we would like to introduce you to a mega project for the Afro descendent communities in Colombia and one that will be of great help to the Americas. Unfortunately, the fate of Afro Colombians, has not been any different that Afro Americans in the United States. They live in a beautiful paradise in the northwestern corner of the South American continent, in a land full of precious minerals and biodiversity, however their communities have been contaminated due to mining by multinational companies. Poverty, malnutrition, and maternal mortality during birth are daily happenings in Choco, Colombia. We learned about this special department of Colombia, in 2012 when the news reported that children 5 to 10 years old, were dying of malnutrition. We thought about a mega project to assist these communities of 98% Afro Colombians, to develop the area to provide housing, schools, transportation, employment and a sense of pride and dignity as they deserve. We found out that USA Law 280 was signed by President Truman in 1949 which had ordered the Panama Canal Zone Governor to study the Atrato-Truando river route in Colombia as an alternative to the Panama Canal. That law did not come to be for a variety of reasons. The time has come to build the Colombia Canal to provide these communities with the resources that will improve their health, education, and wellbeing. The Colombia Canal is only two hours away from Florida and will solve the transportation quandary that the new Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS) have, of not being able to cross the Panama Canal, due to their large size. Projections indicate that the ULCS will be 85% of the world merchant fleet in 2030. We are requesting, if you would introduce a new law ordering to finance 50% of the 109 miles of waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, through the northern land of Colombia as another crossing in the Americas. Recently, we witnessed in the news, how a blockage by one ship in the Suez Canal slowed down the maritime traffic, the delivery of merchandise and the cost in millions of dollars. Having one canal in the Americas is risky if an accident were to happen in the Panama Canal. The Canal zone of Colombia belongs to the Afro-Colombian communities, (Colombian Law 70/1993). They are legally organized in a Private Association and want to have a joint venture to finance, build, operate and maintain the Canal. This will create a pole of development in an area that has been abandoned by the country. We would like to invite you to our website www.canatcol.com. The book “The Colombia Canal” published in 2020 will be available to you if interested and we have the designs and maps to get started with this project. We are available to meet via zoom or phone, with your representative at your convenience. With appreciation and best wishes, Jim Gómez, MD Claudia Baldwin, Ed. S Canatcol, USA President Sowing Seeds for the Future cc. The Honorable Congresswoman Joyce Beatty Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) cc. FOREIGN AFFAIRS & NATIONAL SECURITY BlackCaucus.Press@mail.house.gov cc. Dr. Tonija Hope Howard University cc. Dr. Gustavo Makanaky