Today, Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed his support for the recently agreed 6-month ceasefire between the Colombian government and the five main armed groups in Colombia, during a surprise visit by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to the capital, Caracas, during which they also discussed the issue of opening border posts between the two countries. .
The two leftist leaders said - in a joint statement after their meeting, which lasted nearly 3 hours in the Miraflores presidential palace - that Venezuela "will support the Colombian government in its goal to maintain the bilateral ceasefire."
The two sides also welcomed the "progress made in terms of opening border posts" between the two countries, speaking of a future agreement to "enhance mutual investments," according to the statement.
"We had a very important and productive meeting," Maduro wrote on Twitter after the meeting, a message reposted by Pietro.
During this meeting, the two Presidents also called for the reintegration of Venezuela into the Andean Community and the Inter-American Human Rights System.
They also signed a declaration aimed at activating "joint security mechanisms" on the border, which has been severely affected by drug trafficking and the actions of armed groups.
The second meeting
On Saturday, Petro went to Venezuela on an unannounced visit to meet Maduro, days after the borders were fully reopened between the two countries.
This is the second meeting between the two presidents - in Venezuela - since Petro took power in August, and the restoration of diplomatic relations a month later.
Pietro visited Venezuela on November 1, and then the two presidents met in Egypt during the COP27 summit to strengthen an alliance to protect the Amazon.
The new meeting comes a week after the full reopening of the border posts that were closed in 2019 after severing diplomatic relations with the former conservative Colombian administration headed by Ivan Duque (2018-2022).
The current US President, Joe Biden, does not recognize Maduro as President of Venezuela, considering that his election in 2018 was the result of fraud, but the oil crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine has warmed relations between the two parties.
The White House sent envoys to Caracas in 2022 to negotiate and ease sanctions against Venezuela, after a breakthrough in negotiations between the government and the opposition.
Washington has allowed - especially the giant oil company Chevron - to operate in the Latin country during the next six months.