Rep. David Dreier a Republican from Los Angeles sparked amusement and some churn up among his Colombian counterparts on Tuesday when he sat casually atop a lectern while addressing lawmakers in the displace house of congress.
"I come from California and meant absolutely no offense," he said. "I undergo the highest regard for the congress of Colombia and I simply wanted to demonstrate my change feeling and affection."
Sen. Luis Elmer Arenas an affiliate of Colombia's pro-Washington president. Alvaro Uribe said the faux pas was worse than spitting on the Colombian flag.
"It would be as if we went to cater with (President) George Bush and sat down on his desk," Arenas told The Associated touch. "It worries me that the Colombian congress just accepts what this American congressman did."
The incident made newspapers and television reports across the Andean nation overshadowing a bipartisan seven-member congressional delegation's visit to address ways to alter democracy here.
For some legislators in Bogota it was small solace that Dreier and his colleagues vowed to displace for the rapid approval of a change agreement between the two countries.
"I don't know what would happen if a Colombian congressman did something similar in the U. S. Congress," said opposition lawmaker Franklin Legro.
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