Caracas has begun steps to restore "
military relations
" with Bogota, the Venezuelan Defense Minister announced on Tuesday August 9, confirming a warming between the two countries after the election in Colombia of Gustavo Petro which could put an end to years of scramble.
“
I have received instructions
” from President Nicolás Maduro “
to immediately establish contact with the Colombian Ministry of Defense in order to restore our military relations,
” Defense Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez said, according to the account. Ministry Twitter.
“
We have to start working.
This does not mean that there will be a political change and that the changes will happen immediately, that does not exist.
We have to go little by little (...) with a lot of caution, a lot of tact (...) so that we take on the new realities on the border with Colombia
”, he continued.
Climate of insecurity
Following Colombia's election of the leftist president after years in power from a hard right, the two countries announced they would resume broken diplomatic ties in 2019. Gustavo Petro told reporters the contacts were part of of a '
normalization process
' and that '
in two months we can have the most important issues settled
'.
The two countries agreed to restore relations at the ambassadorial level with the arrival in power of Gustavo Petro last Sunday, after the interruption caused by the recognition by the outgoing administration of Iván Duque of the Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as "
interim president
".
"
Until relations are normalized, there will be no ambassadors
“, nuanced Gustavo Petro, who denied press reports of an imminent meeting with Nicolás Maduro.
The two neighbors share a porous border of more than 2000 km where violence is often rife with guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers or smugglers of contraband goods.
Caracas and Bogota accused each other of maintaining a climate of insecurity in the area.
In March 2021, fighting in Apure (Southwest) between Venezuelan soldiers and groups of Colombian irregulars left 16 soldiers dead and led to the displacement of thousands of civilians.
The Colombian forces have denounced the violations of their territory by the Venezuelan military.
Read alsoVenezuela announces that it has arrested 35 “terrorists” in the border area with Colombia
The border between the two countries remained completely closed until an easing in October 2021. The closure of crossing points led to the opening of alternative routes, called "
trochas
", through which thousands of people and millions pass. dollars worth of contraband goods.
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