The Secretary General of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, José Antonio Salazar, has announced that in the next three months up to four Colombian consulates will be reopened in as many locations in Venezuela in a new boost to bilateral relations.
The first consulate to be opened will be in San Cristobal. It will be followed by those of Maracaibo, San Antonio and those located on the border line up to San Fernando de Atabapo, in Amazonas, as explained by Salazar in declarations to the Colombian radio station Unión Radio. In three months «these consulates should be up and running», according to the diplomat.
Salazar has indicated that «the Consul General of Colombia in Venezuela has already been appointed, an ambassador of diplomatic career who will take office before the end of this month» as consul in San Cristóbal, in the state of Táchira.
Relations between Colombia and Venezuela were restored after Gustavo Petro took office as president of Colombia and a meeting between Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is scheduled for this Saturday.
Last December 14, the Venezuelan authorities removed the containers that prevented passage over the Tienditas bridge, now renamed Atanasio Girardot, thus effectively reopening the border until the final reopening of the bridge on January 1.
The border remained closed for seven years after Maduro ordered the blockade of the passage between the two Latin American countries during the government of Juan Manuel Santos due to the alleged presence of Colombian paramilitaries in his territory, a crisis that worsened with the expulsion of hundreds of Colombians from Venezuela.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
