The governments of Colombia and Venezuela reopened their land border crossings that were closed for vehicles in 2019.
The full reopening of the land border between the two countries is part of a bilateral effort to normalize ties between Bogota and Caracas.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro closed the border an broke off ties with Colombia’s government in 2019 after an opposition attempt to oust his authoritarian government.
This attempt was supported by far-right former US President Donald Trump and his Colombia’s former President Ivan Duque.
Maduro agreed to reverse the measures after President Gustavo Petro took office in August last year and vowed to normalize relations with the government in Caracas.
Since then, the two governments reestablished diplomatic ties and resumed cooperation to reopen the border crossings and improve security in the border region.
The governments of the neighboring countries also vowed cooperation to deal with the migration of millions of people from Venezuela that began in response to an economic collapse in 2015.
According to Colombia’s migration authority, more than 1.8 million Venezuelans have sought refuge in the Colombian border since then.
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The ruptured ties additionally created an economic crisis in the border region, which largely relied on trade between the two countries.
The collapse of the legal economy on Colombia’s side of the border additionally spurred a surge of organized crime groups in the region.
Colombia’s failing state | Part 4: The border with Venezuela
The Petro administration hopes to boost the border economy and public security in the border region by reopening the border and resuming cooperation in regards to border security with Venezuelan authorities.