Colombian President Gustavo Petro arrived Saturday in Caracas to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, in an extraordinary meeting between the two leaders following the full reopening of the border between the two countries last week.
Petro has landed at Maiquetia International Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, where he has been received by the Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Petro was honored upon his arrival with a military parade of honor and from there he was transferred to the Miraflores Palace, seat of the Venezuelan Presidency.
Benedetti himself had met with the new Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil. «We had a pleasant meeting with the Colombian Ambassador, Armando Benedetti, prior to the meeting to be held by Presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro to continue reestablishing bilateral relations and deepening the brotherhood between the peoples,» Gil posted on Twitter.
The meeting between the two presidents is scheduled for 13.00 local time (18.00 in Spain) without details of the meeting having transcended for the moment beyond the fact that it will serve as a follow-up to the previous meeting of November 1, reports Radio Caracol.
At that time, recalls the media, the issues discussed were related to the bilateral relationship between Colombia and Venezuela, the reopening of borders and a key issue, such as Venezuela’s re-entry into the Inter-American Human Rights system.
The border between Venezuela and Colombia was completely reopened on New Year’s Day after the inauguration of the old Tienditas bridge, now renamed Atanasio Girardot, epicenter of years of crisis between both countries.
The border remained closed for seven years after Maduro ordered a blockade 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.
The bridge was completed in 2015, but was never inaugurated due to political problems between the governments of the two countries. In 2019, Venezuelan authorities blocked the passage through this road infrastructure with containers, after the opposition tried to bring alleged humanitarian aid into the country, which Caracas described as an invasion attempt.
Petro, on the other hand, has worked to restore relations with Venezuela and last September 26 the resumption of air connections and cargo transport was already announced.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
