The government of Colombia’s President-elect Gustavo Petro will seek to normalize broken relations with neighboring Venezuela after taking office on August 7.
This was announced by incoming Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva after a meeting with his future counterpart Carlos Faria in the Venezuelan border city of San Antonio.
Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro closed the border and broke ties with Colombia after President Ivan Duque helped a failed coup in Caracas in February 2019.
The closed border collapsed the formal economy on the border that fell in the hands of illegal armed groups.
In a joint statement, Leyva and Faria promised to gradually reopen the border and “make joint efforts to ensure security and peace on the border of our countries.”
The security forces of both countries will gradually resume joint operations to recover State authority in the border regions.
Colombia’s failing state | Part 4: The border with Venezuela
The two governments will immediately appoint ambassadors and consuls to support the resumption of diplomatic ties and provide services to migrants.
The Venezuelan embassy in Bogota is currently occupied by an exiled opposition leader, who would have to find a new home.
Venezuela and Colombia have a history of complex bilateral relations, mainly caused by border disputes.
The 1999 election of late President Hugo Chavez and the fraudulent 2016 reelection of Maduro further complicated relations.
Duque’s 2018 election and Bogotá’s support to overthrow his Venezuelan counterpart worsened relations to its lowest point in recent memory.
The Colombian Congress has already been seeking to improve relations with Caracas, but has been opposed by Duque and his far-right Democratic Center party.