Caracas and Bogota both name new ambassadors to each other’s capitals, a first step in normalising diplomatic relations after recent inauguration of Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
(Reuters Archive)
Venezuela and Colombia have appointed ambassadors to each other’s capitals,
moving to rebuild relations between the two countries that have
been broken for more than three years.
Thursday’s appointments come days after the inauguration of
Colombia’s first leftist president, Gustavo Petro, who has
expressed his intention to normalise diplomatic relations with
Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro appointed Felix
Plasencia, a former foreign minister, as ambassador to Bogota,
calling him “a man of great diplomatic experience”.
Petro named
Armando Benedetti, a former senator, as Colombia’s ambassador to
Caracas.
“In response to the Venezuelan government, I have appointed an ambassador who will (also) be tasked with normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries,” Petro said in a video.
Maduro added that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez will be in
charge of designing a plan to reopen Venezuela’s border with
Colombia and boost trade and investment with its neighbour.
Resumptions of military relations
The two countries share more than 2,500 kilometers of the border.
Caracas and Bogota also announced intentions to restore military relations.
“We will continue step by step and at a safe pace to advance toward the restoration and reconstruction of political, diplomatic and commercial relations,” Maduro said on state television.
Caracas broke off relations with Bogota in early 2019 after
members of the Venezuelan opposition tried to cross from
Colombian territory with trucks loaded with food and medicine.
Maduro’s government said the aid masked an attempted coup by
the opposition with support from Washington.
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
