CARACAS — Venezuelan leader
Nicolas Maduro said Monday
his country would fully reopen its land border with Colombia on January 1,
2023, completing a negotiating process that began in September with the two
South American neighbors reestablishing diplomatic ties.
اضافة اعلان
“I can announce
that we will be completely opening the entire western border of Venezuela with
Colombia for the passage of vehicles Maduro said in a statement broadcast on
the state media.
“We are
preparing everything to comply with what we announced, to fulfill the pledges
made with (Colombian) President Gustavo Petro to open it on January 1,” Maduro
said.
The border was
partially closed seven years ago and completely blocked three years ago, when
Maduro broke off diplomatic ties after the previous Colombian government
questioned his re-election, the legitimacy of which many countries, including
the US, have also doubted.
As soon as he
came to power, Petro,
Colombia’s first-ever left-wing president, sought to
reestablish ties and pushed for a reopening of the border.
The Simon
Bolivar Bridge, which connects Colombia’s Cucuta with the Venezuelan city of
San Antonio del Tachira, is currently open for cargo vehicles between 10am and
5pm and for pedestrians between 5am and 6pm.
It is expected
that next Thursday a test plan will be launched on the “Tienditas” bridge, a
land route that has not been inaugurated since its construction in 2017.
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