Maduro and Petro Discuss Normalizing Border Crossing
This Wednesday, June 22, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and the recently-elected president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, held a telephone conversation to discuss the normalization of border crossing, which has been affected by closures and traffic disruptions for almost seven years now.
Through his Twitter account, the Venezuelan head of state reported that issues “about peace and the prosperous future of both peoples” were also discussed.
Earlier, the newly-elected president of Colombia also posted a tweet about this important step, stressing that he had been the one to initiate contacts with the government of Venezuela to open the borders.
This is the first time in more than three years that the heads of state of Colombia and Venezuela have had direct communication. Many analysts believe that this is due to the submissive nature of Colombia’s foreign policy, making it resemble a US colony.
“I have spoken with the Venezuelan government to open the borders and restore the full exercise of human rights on the border,” Petro wrote on his Twitter account.
The opening of borders and resumption of diplomatic and trade relations with Venezuela was one of Petro’s campaign promises, assuring that if he were elected he would take that step.
During a rally in early May in Cúcuta, the capital of the Colombian department of Norte de Santander where the main border connecting the cities of San Antonio del Táchira and Ureña lies, the now president-elect stated: “I have to tell you that Cúcuta cannot be a city; it cannot prosper, it cannot overcome problems without opening the borders.”
In February 2019, the Government of Venezuela announced the temporary and total closure of the Simón Bolívar, Unión and Santander bridges that connect the populations of Colombia on the western border of the country, as well as the breaking of diplomatic relations. This was due to the irresponsible decision of the Colombian government to recognized the self-appointed “interim president” Juan Guaidó, together with the military provocation of illegally forcing the entry of alleged US “humanitarian aid” creating one of the most tense security incidents between the two countries in decades, know as the Battle of the Bridges.
In a post by Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez from June 2019, the Venezuelan top-authority reiterated the willingness of the Venezuelan government to “grant full guarantees to the Venezuelan and Colombian people to have safe border crossings. As soon as the gross acts of violence against our people and our territory are controlled, border normality will be restored!”
In several other occasions since then Venezuelan authorities have shown their willingness to resume diplomatic, consular and trade relations with Colombia, however all attempts were consistently rejected by the government of outgoing-president Iván Duque.
(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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