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WASHINGTON— House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) today sent a letter to President Obama ahead of his upcoming trip to Argentina.

In the letter to the president, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel write: “We write to commend you for your decision to travel to Buenos Aires in March to meet with newly elected President Mauricio Macri. As you work to renew the partnership between the United States and Argentina, we would like to suggest that you use this visit as an opportunity to pay tribute to victims of terrorism in Argentina and pledge to help bring those responsible to justice.”

The signed letter is available HERE.

The text of the letter follows:

March 1, 2016

The President

The White House

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to commend you for your decision to travel to Buenos Aires in March to meet with newly elected President Mauricio Macri. As you work to renew the partnership between the United States and Argentina, we would like to suggest that you use this visit as an opportunity to pay tribute to victims of terrorism in Argentina and pledge to help bring those responsible to justice.

The attacks that targeted the Israeli Embassy on March 17, 1992 and the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) on July 18, 1994 were the deadliest in the country’s history. Recognizing the victims and pledging assistance would send an important signal that the U.S. will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Argentina to fight terrorism. 

As we wrote in our November 21, 2015 letter urging you to prioritize U.S. – Argentina relations, the United States and Argentina should be natural partners in areas ranging from economic cooperation to counternarcotics efforts. As such, your visit this month should lay the groundwork for renewing this relationship. We hope that by commemorating the victims of the AMIA and Israeli Embassy terrorist attacks, you can help to further strengthen U.S. – Argentine counterterrorism efforts in the Americas.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Edward R. Royce

Chairman

Eliot L. Engel

Ranking Member

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