Colombia’s government is facing resistance from human rights organizations and opinion leaders against growing tensions with neighboring Venezuela.
More than a 100 organizations and opinion leaders from both countries signed an open letter in which they said they would seek non-governmental diplomatic channels “in favor of a political and peaceful solution in Venezuela as well as building bridges between the two nations.”
President Ivan Duque has rejected United Nations’ proposals to talk to his disputed counterpart in Caracas, Nicolas Maduro amid increasing military tensions and mutual terrorism support claims.
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Maduro’s claim to the presidency is challenged by opposition leader Juan Guaido. There is evidence that both have ties to Colombian illegal armed groups.
The so-called “Colombia-Venezuela Citizen Convergence” said that it would seek to “to articulate and multiply initiatives to support dialogues and agreements between the different social and political sectors.”
The situation in Venezuela and the Colombian-Venezuelan relationship are increasingly worrying. The humanitarian emergency, the social and security problems, as well as the sharp economic and institutional deterioration, are multiplying their effects inside and outside Venezuela, whose crisis has a particular impact on Colombia. At the same time, Colombia’s acute problems and the decisions of its government have an impact on the serious Venezuelan situation.
Colombia-Venezuela Citizen Convergence
The binational initiative said that illegal armed groups are taking advantage of the broken ties between Maduro and Duque in the historically lawless border region, further aggravating the humanitarian situation on both sides of the border.
The absence of relations between the governments of Ivan Duque and Nicolas Maduro and the intermittent closure of the 6 formal border crossings ordered by the latter along the 2,219 km bordering the city, have increased the presence and actions of violent and criminal groups engaged in smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal mining, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and recruitment of children, , and impose their “law” and illegally regulate the flows between two neighbors with a long and rich history of links of diverse nature. The perpetuation of this situation further erodes the capacity of the states even exacerbates bilateral tensions.
Colombia-Venezuela Citizen Convergence
The illegal armed group, together with Maduro’s decision to hold military exercises near the border and his rival’s call to activate a multinational military defense pact, “can provoke a confrontation of unforeseeable and serious consequences,” according to the organization.
“The entire region loses by failing to reach an agreement to foster peaceful and democratic transition in Venezuela,” according to the organization, echoing calls by the United Nations and the European Union to negotiate new elections.
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Maduro’s re-election in January is widely considered the result of widespread fraud. The country plunged into an institutional crisis when Guaido, the speaker of the country’s national assembly, declared himself president with the support of dozens of governments from the Americas and Europe.