After three years of rupture, Venezuela and Colombia exchange ambassadors

Venezuela and Colombia announced on Thursday that they would exchange ambassadors more than three years after severing their relations, after the new left-wing Colombian president Gustavo Petro came to power.

In Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro announced that former Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia had requested his accreditation from the Colombian government “

”.

"

", retorted Gustavo Petro in a video. addressed to the media.

Armando Benedetti is a former senator.

"

Step by step

"

Caracas severed diplomatic ties with Bogotá in February 2019 when right-wing Colombian President Ivan Duque failed to recognize Nicolas Maduro's re-election and backed opposition leader Juan Guaido's proclamation as interim president.

Nicolas Maduro has also repeatedly reported alleged plans fomented by Ivan Duque to overthrow him.

In addition to the exchange of ambassadors, the normalization process provides for the complete reopening of the border of more than 2000 km which separates the two countries, completely closed to vehicles since 2015 and reopened only to pedestrians since the end of last year.

Caracas and Bogota will also restore their military relations.

“

” Nicolas Maduro said on the public channel VTV.

Read alsoVenezuela wants to restore “military relations” with Colombia

Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in the history of Colombia elected on June 19, announced during his campaign that he would restore diplomatic relations with Venezuela as soon as he took office on August 7.

Gustavo Petro and Nicolas Maduro have already spoken on the phone but the presence of guerrillas, paramilitaries and drug traffickers on the porous common border area, which millions of Venezuelans have crossed to flee the crisis, remains a sensitive subject.