Venezuela to re-establish military relations with Colombia
Venezuela’s defence ministry says the country will seek to reestablish military relations with Colombia after years of conflict.
The defence ministry tweeted on Tuesday that Venezuela’s Defence Minister General Vladimir Padrino Lopez has received instructions from President Nicolas Maduro to contact Colombian Defence Minister Ivan Velasquez in order to “reestablish their military relations.”
Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Colombia in 2019 following a U.S.-backed attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to moving humanitarian aid into the country from Colombia, which Caracas regarded as aggression from Bogota.
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A 2021 audit from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) found the former U.S. Trump administration’s aid effort was not planned in alignment with humanitarian principles.
On July 28, Colombia’s new government and Venezuela announced they would appoint ambassadors to the two countries’ capitals after years without diplomatic relations and will work to boost security along their shared border.
Colombia and Venezuela share a 2,219-kilometer land border with dozens of irregular crossings and activities such as fuel and food smuggling, as well as drug trafficking.
Colombian and Venezuelan officials have traded blame for the lack of security along the border crossings.
Colombia’s newly appointed leftist President Gustavo Petro has already announced his willingness to reestablish and normalize border crossings.
Zainab Sa’id
