Caracas had severed diplomatic relations with Bogota in February 2019, when the Colombian president had not recognized the re-election of Nicolas Maduro.
Venezuela and Colombia have formally renewed their diplomatic relations, broken for three years, with the arrival in Caracas on Sunday August 28 of the Colombian ambassador designated by the new President Gustavo Petro. “Relations with Venezuela should never have been severed, we are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate ustweeted Ambassador Armando Benedetti.
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According to the diplomat, more than 8 million Colombians live from bilateral trade with Venezuela. One of the objectives of this resumption of relations is to restore trade relations between the two countries. Venezuela and Colombia announced on August 11 their intention to exchange ambassadors.
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 2021. Caracas and Bogota also count restore their military relations.
The Colombian-Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce predicts trade of $800 million to $1.2 billion in 2022, after reaching around $400 million the previous year.
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.
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