(San Cristobal) Venezuela and Colombia will restore diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level from August 7, when Colombia’s new left-wing president Gustavo Petro takes office, representatives of the two countries announced on Thursday.
Posted at 5:28 p.m.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faria received his designated Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Leyva, in San Cristobal, capital of Tachira state bordering the two countries.
The two representatives, according to a statement read by Mr. Leyva, “expressed their willingness to move forward with a program for the progressive normalization of binational relations which will begin on August 7 with the appointment of ambassadors and other diplomatic and consular officials.
In a statement to the press, Mr. Faria reaffirmed that once Mr. Petro takes office, he will “immediately” proceed with the “installation of the ambassadors” and of “all the teams that should be working in the different consulates”.
PHOTO VANNESSA JIMENEZ, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Colombian President Gustavo Petro
“We agree that we must work for peace and for the security of our borders, we are talking about the progressive opening of the border, an aspect that will directly benefit our peoples”, he said. added.
Mr. Petro, the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia elected on June 19, announced during the campaign that he would restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela, broken since 2019.
The outgoing conservative president, Ivan Duque, had, like some sixty countries including the United States, not recognized the re-election of Nicolas Maduro and supported the proclamation of the leader of the opposition Juan Guaidó as interim president.
The border between the two countries remained completely closed until a relaxation in October 2021, while Mr Maduro has repeatedly reported on supposed plans fomented by Mr Duque to overthrow him.
MM. Petro and Maduro have already spoken on the phone, but the presence of guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers on the porous common border zone of more than 2,000 km, which millions of Venezuelans have crossed to flee the crisis, is a subject. sensitive.
On Thursday, Colombian police said they “possess evidence” that an armed group, under the command of a former guerrilla hiding in Venezuela, offered more than $1.5 million in rewards for the assassination of Ivan Duque or his defense minister.