Colombia and Venezuela appoint new ambassadors after three years of rift

Former Colombian senator Armando Benedetti (left) has been appointed as ambassador to Venezuela while former Venezuelan foreign minister Felix Plasencia (right) has been chosen to be ambassador to Colombia.

© CRISTIAN HERNANDEZ, GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Venezuela and Colombia announced on Thursday (August 11) that they would exchange ambassadors more than three years after severing their relations, and this, after the arrival in power of the new left-wing Colombian president, Gustavo Petro.

Advertising

Read more

In Caracas, President Nicolas Maduro announced that former Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia had requested his accreditation from the Colombian government “and will soon be in Bogotá”.

"

 I have decided, in response to the Venezuelan government which has appointed the ambassador who will be responsible for normalizing relations between the two countries, to appoint Armando Benedetti as Colombia's ambassador to Venezuela

 ", retorted

Gustavo Petro

in a video .

addressed to the media.

Armando Benedetti is a former senator and former president of the Colombian Senate.

Designed by compañero, Félix Plasencia, as the new embajador de Venezuela en Colombia.

Estoy seguro que su experiencia, sabiduría y determinación seguirá alimentando las relaciones entre ambos países, para alcanzar la Paz y la hermandad verdadera.

pic.twitter.com/jLH3tYxITk

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) August 12, 2022

Caracas had severed diplomatic relations with Bogotá in February 2019. Right-wing Colombian President Ivan Duque had not recognized the re-election of Nicolas Maduro and had supported the proclamation of opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president.

The Venezuelan leader has also repeatedly reported alleged plans fomented by Ivan Duque to overthrow him.

Towards a complete reopening of the border

In addition to the exchange of ambassadors, the normalization process provides for

the complete reopening of the border

of more than 2,000 km which separates the two countries.

It had been completely closed to vehicles since 2015 and reopened only to pedestrians since the end of 2021. Caracas and Bogotá will also restore their military relations.

 We will continue step by step and at a sure pace to move towards the restoration and reconstruction of political, diplomatic and commercial relations,

 ” Nicolas Maduro said on the public channel VTV.

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.

The two South American leaders have already spoken on the phone.

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.

(with AFP)

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Colombia

  • Venezuela

  • Diplomacy

  • Gustavo Petro

  • Nicola Maduro