"We are brothers": Venezuela and Columbia restore diplomatic relations

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Aug 2022 09:24
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After a three-year break, the Latin American nations are restoring diplomatic ties and reopening the border that separates them, reigniting economic prospects for both.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (Getty)

For the first time in three years, Venezuela and Colombia have restored full diplomatic relations Sunday as a new leftist government in Bogota takes its course.

The new Colombian ambassador, Armando Benedetti, arrived in the city of Caracas and published on Twitter: "Relations with Venezuela should never have been severed. We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us." The new Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia, Felix Plasencia, also landed on Sunday in Colombia to expedite the normalization of diplomatic ties.

He was welcomed by deputy foreign minister Rander Pena Ramirez, who tweeted: "our historical ties summon us to work together for the happiness of our peoples."

Gustavo Petro, Colombia's new and first leftist president, and Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced on August 11 their plans to restore diplomatic relations that were broken in 2019. That was the pinnacle of years of tension between leftist Venezuela and Colombia under successive conservative presidents, starting with Alvaro Uribe. Following the series of events, embassies and consulates in both countries were closed, and flights between the neighbors were grounded.

The 2,000-kilometer land border between the two Latin American countries was closed between 2019 and October 2021, and was opened to pedestrians only. Petro is Colombia's first leftist president and wishes to establish a strong relationship with Caraca unlike his predecessor, Ivan Duque, who did not acknowledge Maduro as president - but rather opposition leader Juan Guaido, a US-backed right-wing candidate during the Venezuelan elections who claimed to have become interim President of Venezuela.

Colombia was one of around 60 countries to do so, having renounced Venezuela's 2018 presidential election, which was boycotted by the opposition. In addition to exchanging ambassadors, the normalization process will entail the full reopening of the border.

The frontier has been the scene of conflict between armed groups. The cities of Caracas and Bogota have also announced plans to restore military relations as well. Benedetti stated that more than eight million Colombians earn a living from trade with Venezuela, which is why one of the intentions is to re-establish trade relations between the two countries.

A similar expectation sits on the Venezuelan side, where industrialists want to normalize trade that reached $7.2 billion in 2008 but collapsed when the border closed. Maduro said during a national economic council session on Tuesday. "We will propose to (Colombian) President Gustavo Petro establishing a vast economic zone for trade and industry between Norte de Santander and the state of Tachira".

The Venezuelan leader highlighted that this project could be expanded to include the states of Apure, Amazonas, and Zulia, all of which lie on the Colombian-Venezuelan borders.