Apparently, the reestablishment of Colombian-Venezuelan relations will be a somewhat difficult vehicle to start, at least in its entirety. The US sanctions that weigh on companies and people in Venezuela They will be a stumbling block and put the Washington, Caracas and Bogotá triangle in a tight spot, especially the latter.
(Also read:Nicolás Maduro, the great absentee in the reopening of the border)
Both nations have shown —in their own way— an interest in resuming the broken relationship. The formal reopening of the border evidenced this, but the setback with respect to flights between the two capitals seems to be the tip of the iceberg of the depth involved in relating to Venezuela.
Colombia is not Iran, Russia or China, which act without much thought in the United States. On the contrary, it is an important ally in Latin America but wants to incorporate its neighbor again not only in the trade balance, but also in the region.
The first disagreement due to these sanctions imposed by the so-called Clinton List, under the Office of Asset Control (Ofac) arises from the impossibility of the state-owned Conviasa making the first flight to Bogotá.
(Also read: This was the passage of the first truck from Colombia to Venezuela)
Since 2020, the airline has the sanction. At the time, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that “the illegitimate Maduro regime relies on Conviasa to move corrupt officials around the world, to galvanize support for its anti-democratic efforts.”
“So, there is the will between Venezuela and Colombia to normalize their relationship as much as possible, but there is that tension between the United States and Venezuela. If this continues, which is most likely, if it is very possible that maintaining the sanctions could hinder the intentions of normalizing relations”, told EL TIEMPO, Miguel Velarde, economist and political consultant.
If it is very possible that maintaining sanctions could hinder the intentions of normalizing relations
For Carlos Paparoni, deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela, from 2015, and who has investigated cases of corruption related to the Maduro government, he considers that the situation between Colombia and Venezuela goes beyond a political scenario since he believes that for the neighboring country “It would be a mistake for these companies linked to money laundering” to enter the Colombian system.
“I think it is a matter of Maduro to see how he enters that system.”
On the Ofac list there are 45 sanctioned companies, which, in addition to Conviasa, include entities such as the Central Bank of Venezuela, Banco de Venezuela, Banco Bicentenario, National Institute of Aquatic and Insular SpacesPetróleos de Venezuela and other suppliers of inputs and services.
“One concern is whether Colombia will relax the protection measures for its banks, whether it will allow regime officials to open accounts,” Paparoni told EL TIEMPO, recalling that in the United States there are 32 open court cases for money laundering through PDVSA. that add up to some 16,000 million dollars, for which he does not believe that at the moment the operation of Conviasa towards Colombia will be solved.
For Miguel Velarde, the airlines is a sign of the care that Colombia is going to have when approaching its neighbor. “The Petro government has given the first signs that it will not risk the consequences of violating these sanctions by Venezuela.”
And the example of Conviasa can be extended to other entities, or at least that is what Enderson Sequera, a political scientist, believes. “Colombian companies are going to be very careful about over-compliance with sanctions. In other words, when in doubt, they would rather lose a business than end up sanctioned. This may end up being a source of tension between the Petro administration and President Biden.”
Although there are already designated ambassadors for both capitals, the border was launched and there are plans for the future, not everything is clear about what the road to travel between Colombia and Venezuela will be like.
ANA RODRIGUEZ BRAZON
WEATHER CORRESPONDENT
CARACAS
More news
In the reopening of the border there was no inaugural flight
Nicolás Maduro on reopening the border: “It is a historic day”
#sanctions #Venezuela #limit #relations #Colombia