Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday that the gradual reopening of the border with Venezuela will begin on September 26.
The gradual reopening of the border is part of a bilateral effort to reestablish ties that were cut by Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro in 2019.
Petro said on social media platform Twitter that the two governments agreed to resume flights and cargo transports between the neighboring countries “as a first step.”
The president did not specify when land border crossings will be opened for citizens of the neighboring countries.
Gradual restoration of ties
The gradual reopening of the borders comes weeks after Petro and Maduro reopened the two countries’ embassies in Bogota and Caracas.
Following the reopening of cargo transport and air travel, the governments have yet to coordinate the full reopening of land border crossings.
This step is delicate because of a migration crisis caused by an unprecedented flow of Venezuelans leaving their country that began in 2014.
According to the United Nations, more than 5.6 million Venezuelans have left their countries to escape deplorable conditions in their country.
An estimated 2.5 million of these migrants have settled in Colombia, according to the country’s migration agency.
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Border economy and security
The rupture of ties between Colombia and Venezuela, combined with the mass migration, plunged the border region in a major crisis.
The closing of the border devastated the economy in the border region, which was largely dependent on trade between the two countries.
The suspension of cooperation between the two countries’ security forces additionally surged violence in the region that was overtaken by illegal armed groups.
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Why the border was closed
The Venezuelan government broke off ties with its Colombian counterpart in response to a failed opposition plot to oust Maduro.
This plot included an attempt to move trucks with “humanitarian aid” of the US government from from the Colombian border city of Cucuta into Venezuela.
The operation turned violent after which Caracas closed the borders and broke off ties with the governments of Colombia and the US.