After August 7, relations between Colombia and Venezuela enter a new phase. Reconciliation is imminent after years of tension, accusations and relationship breakdown that reached their peak in 2019 with the recognition of President Iván Duque, Juan Guaidó as interim president, opposing Nicolás Maduro.
(Also read: Foreign Minister appointed by Petro and Venezuela agree to normalize relations)
But now with Gustavo Petro in the Casa de Nariño, things seem to be taking a new direction. The meeting between the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Carlos Faría, and the person designated by Petro, Álvaro Leyva, gave rise to a joint declaration in which they promise to advance in the reestablishment of relations and send ambassadors to Caracas and Venezuela.
“It was a meeting that tells us that the future is going to be better, Colombia and Venezuela meet again, in peace, in love in freedom looking to the future, it has been a successful, virtuous, extraordinary meeting,” Maduro said on the night of Thursday .
Given this, the critical opposition and Guaidó himself have preferred to remain silent. Some members of the National Assembly chaired by the one recognized by Colombia as interim president, did not respond to EL TIEMPO’s requests to discuss the issue.
The meeting between the Foreign Minister appointed by the President of Colombia @petrogustavo, Álvaro Leyva and the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Carlos Faría, was successful and virtuous, of union in the spirit of Bolívar. The future to come will be better, a reunion of our countries. pic.twitter.com/lWtwHNBmmS
– Nicolas Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) July 29, 2022
Others, such as congressman Williams Dávila, recognize the importance of normalizing the situation on the border. “It is a wish of the peoples of Norte de Santander and western Venezuela and I am of the opinion that the opening should be deepened not only for vehicles but also for trade, creating a large free zone”, he told this newspaper.
But Dávila calls on President Petro, not only to recognize “the importance” of the more than two million Venezuelans on Colombian soil, but also to “bear in mind that the reality of Venezuela is the product of the emergency caused by the dictatorship” and urges that the neighboring country can contribute to a “democratic solution” because “that is the most important cooperation.”
On the other hand, from the National Assembly elected in 2020, with an official majority, opponents celebrate the meeting between the two foreign ministers, cataloging the rapprochement as a “good sign.”
José Gregorio Correa, deputy and president of the migratory affairs subcommittee, believes that with this step “the phase of ending deception, of lies that never existed, will be of benefit to both countries.”
Correa called for the resumption of parliamentary diplomacy between the two nations and that “a commission of deputies from both Colombia and Venezuela should meet, either on the border, in Caracas or in Bogotá to find solutions.”
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
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