Published: Less than 20 min ago
A fresh start in the previously frozen relationship between the neighboring countries Venezuela and Colombia is expected after the summit.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro traveled to Venezuela on Saturday for a meeting with the country’s President Nicolás Maduro. The meeting is part of thawing relations after years of diplomatic deadlock between the two countries.
The visit takes place days after a strategically important bridge between the countries was reopened to traffic.
The diplomatic freeze occurred after a dispute over Nicolás Maduro’s contested election victory in 2018. Maduro’s side was accused of cheating and authoritarian methods of violence, and a number of countries chose to side with then-opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
The opposition in Venezuela has since collapsed into phalanxes, while Colombia elected a left-leaning president, Gustavo Petro, to replace the more conservative Iván Duque.
Petro was named president in August 2022, and one of his first actions was to begin efforts to re-establish diplomatic ties with Venezuela. The visit is Petro’s second in Caracas, and the goal, according to Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is to “continue work for a common agenda for the two countries.”