CARACAS — Venezuela and
Colombia restored
full diplomatic relations Sunday after a three-year break, as a new leftist
government in Bogota takes shape.
اضافة اعلان
A new Colombian ambassador, Armando Benedetti,
arrived in Caracas and said on Twitter: “Relations with Venezuela should never
have been severed. We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us.”
He was welcomed by deputy foreign minister Rander
Pena Ramirez, who tweeted that “our historical ties summon us to work together
for the happiness of our peoples.”
Colombia’s new leftist president,
Gustavo Petro, and
Venezuela’s socialist president Nicolas Maduro announced on August 11 that they
planned to restore diplomatic relations that were severed in 2019.
That rupture was the culmination of years of tension
between leftist Venezuela and Colombia under successive conservative
presidents, starting with Alvaro Uribe.
Embassies and consulates in both countries were
closed, and flights between the neighbors grounded.
Even the 2,000km land border between the two
countries was closed between 2019 and October 2021, when it was opened to
pedestrians only.
Petro is Colombia’s first leftist president.
The last president in Colombia, Ivan Duque, did not
recognize Maduro as president — but rather opposition leader Juan Guaido.
Colombia was one of around 60 countries to do so,
having rejected Venezuela’s 2018 presidential election.
In addition to exchanging ambassadors, the
normalization process will include the full reopening of the border; the porous
frontier has been the scene of clashes between armed groups.
Caracas and Bogota have also announced intentions to restore
military relations.
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