Since last August 7th Gustavo Petro joined the office of President of Colombia One of the most discussed and analyzed issues at the international level is the new relationship that should be established between this country and its neighbor Venezuela. With concrete facts such as border openings and joint actions by personalities from both countries, the signs of relaxation and the will to improve relations were made clear from the very first moment.
The meeting between Gustavo Petro and Nicolas Maduro Last Tuesday, November 1st, it was a major step forward in the reunification between the two nations that have had periods of rapprochement and other violent disagreements throughout history.
At a two-hour meeting at the Miraflores Palace, leaders agreed to re-establish coordination between the two countries’ intelligence agencies to attack, among other things, the action of armed gangs at the border. Both leaders expressed satisfaction with the way the meeting went and it was noticeable that they both dressed very similarly: black pants and white shirts. Petro entered the palace accompanied by Miraflores Delcy Rodriguez, Vice President of Venezuela, walked down a red carpet and was greeted by Maduro and his wife, cilia flores.
Corresponding Gustave Petro, This borderland is currently in the hands of the mafia, and he agreed with Maduro “fully recover”.
First meeting between leaders of Venezuela and Colombia in six years.
There is a distance of 1,400 kilometers between Caracas and Bogotá, which Gustavo Petro flew to meet Nicolás Maduro and try to close this gap. “The separation of two neighboring nations is a suicidal adventure”Petro said officially for the first time shortly after shaking hands with Nicolás Maduro. The fact that two neighboring countries do not speak to each other is “unnatural”, said Petro at the end of the visit in front of the camera.
“Colombia and Venezuela, if we have something, it is a common destiny”said Nicolás Maduro, who emphasized that relations between Caracas and Bogotá should always be characterized by “fraternity and understanding”. “Governments have an obligation to always work for the common good in the diversity of our visions”he added.
The split “happened at a bad time,” quoted Petro, who is now trying to bridge the gap. During lunch and the meeting, the Colombian offered to mediate in the dialogues between the government and the opposition, a sensitive issue on which news is expected soon.
Maduro commented that they discussed trade, economic relations and the “new steps” they will take “towards a full and safe opening of the borders between Colombia and Venezuela,” as well as “the security and the orderly and appropriate operation” of the border areas.
The summit, attended by senior officials from both countries, was key to what is to come, such as Venezuela’s return to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the restoration of the border, which would be fully opened on January 1, and the joint agreement to defend the Amazon at COP27, to be held in Egypt next week.
The arrival of Lula as a presidential candidate in Brazil from January will put a new twist on relations between the neighbors. In Caracas there is even talk of a meeting between the three Lula, Petro and Maduro next year
Petro said that at the meeting they discussed everything from internal issues to the most complex situations in the world: “It is anti-historic that Colombia and Venezuela separate. It happened once, but it shouldn’t happen again because blood ties bind us together,” the Colombian President noted. “We will see a new phase that must produce real American integration in practice and in fact,” he added.
“We must connect with the people and be able to enlighten a new century to call democracy and freedom, this is our invitation (…) Thank you for these hours and we will have these discussions, debates and meetings of a brotherhood continue that should never have broken”: This is how Gustavo Petro ended his visit to Caracas, according to his host “fertile, cheap and with good results”.
Relations between the two countries began to tighten during the reign Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), with the departure of many Colombian companies and the nationalization of others; Juan Manuel Santos (2010-2018) tried to put them back together, but his public denunciations of irregularities in Maduro’s election in 2013 served to perpetuate distrust in Caracas.
The last presidential meeting took place in August 2016 between the presidents Nicholas Maduroin his first term and the President Juan Manuel Santos. But more than an official visit, it was just a working meeting to make arrangements about the complex shared border that were never implemented.
Everything definitely went wrong upon arrival Ivan Herzog to the Presidency of Colombia. Duke recognized the opponent Juan Guaidó as “interim president” in 2019, making Colombia the first detractor of the Maduro government and one of the headquarters of the radical Venezuelan opposition.
Relationships were severed and control tightened a border of 2,219 kilometers through which millions of people move. Invasion attempts, mercenaries, attempted coups and assassinations all came from Colombia.
A tension that never stopped growing and that escalated several times in the direct military sphere. The arrival of Gustav Petro to the presidency in Colombia marks the failure of this policy of conspiracy and confrontation.
Petro also said that this meeting must contribute to real regional integration, not on paper. And he called on Maduro to return Venezuela to the inter-American human rights system and also to the Andean community of nations. According to Nicolás Maduro, the latter would be practically agreed.
The arrival of lula to the presidency in Brazil from January will give a new touch to relations between neighbors. In Caracas there is even talk of a meeting of the three Lula, Petro and Maduronext year.
It is clear that this is very good news for the continent and in particular for besieged Venezuela. The new situation created by the electoral processes of recent years in Latin America will open up new possibilities for relations both between the Latin American nations themselves and in their relationship with Europe. Spain and the European Community continue to theoretically recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate president, a fact that is increasingly being questioned in all European countries.
In this sense, the role that Colombia can play in promoting normality in relations between Venezuela and the international community is becoming more relevant every day. In response to the visit, a US State Department spokesman said, as reported by The New York Times, Washington has called on Colombia to “hold governments accountable that have abandoned democratic norms, such as Maduro’s authoritarian regime.” But the government of Joe Biden did not specifically criticize or praise the decision Gustav Petro.
