Venezuela and Colombia will restore diplomatic relations on August 7, when President-elect Gustavo Petro takes office, representatives of the two countries announced this Thursday (28).
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faría received Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva in the city of San Cristóbal, capital of Táchira state, located on a border that was once one of the most active in the region.
Both representatives, according to a statement read by Leyva, “expressed their willingness to advance a work agenda for the gradual normalization of binational relations starting next August 7 with the appointment of ambassadors and other diplomatic and consular officials”.
Since his campaign, Petro said that he would restore relations with Venezuela, broken since 2019, when the government of current President Iván Duque did not recognize the re-election of Nicolás Maduro and supported the proclamation of the opposition Juan Guaidó as acting president.
There are no consulates or direct flights, and the border between the two countries was closed from 2019 to October 2021. In addition, there are constant complaints by Maduro against Duque for alleged plans to overthrow him.
