Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said that Colombia’s 2008 raid on a FARC camp in Ecuador, which killed guerrilla leader “Raul Reyes,” is in the past and the two nations should “look to the future.”
Correa, who arrived in Colombia Wednesday, said that it was important to “think about the present” regarding relations between the two Andean nations.
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos agreed with Correa, saying that the raid, which sparked a breakdown in relations between the neighboring countries only resolved in November this year, was not against the Ecuadorean people, but against a Colombian terrorist.
“I think this is now the culmination of the process of normalizing our relations. President Correa has named his new ambassador. We will give approval as soon as possible,” said Santos.
Santos went on to say that Correa’s visit was “a presence full of love and solidarity in times of difficulty.”
The Ecuadorean president said Wednesday that Colombians would not need visas to enter Ecuador, as was suggested by the mayor of Guayaquil.
Correa arrived in Colombia with seven tons of humanitarian aid for the victims of Colombia’s devastating rainy season.
Later on Wednesday Correa will travel to the north of the Valle del Cauca departments, where the Cauca river flooded the village of Victoria.
The visit by Ecuador’s head of state is the first since the two countries fully reestablished ties on November 26.
