Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez welcomes Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas.
Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuelan Acting President, Delsey Rodriguezwelcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on Friday, their first meeting since the US military. Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro seized And his wife moved out of their house in January.
The leaders were expected to discuss a wide-ranging bilateral agenda including migration, defence, border security, industrial cooperation and trade.
Petro and Rodriguez were expected to meet at their shared border last month, but Their respective governments abruptly canceled the meeting Citing “force majeure”, which he did not specify, and only said it would happen later.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Petro announced that his delegation, including top military and police officials, would deal with border security with Rodriguez.
focuses on Catatumbo areaWhere rival armed groups fight for territorial control and Petro stressed the need for “close cooperation on intelligence”, warning that without it, “bombs fall in the wrong places … and ultimately kill civilians.”
Colombia–Venezuela relations have been in bad shape for a long time. Petro did not recognize Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela in the run-up to elections in July 2024, prompting protests that led to widespread repression. Nevertheless, he maintained diplomatic relations with Caracas.
Colombia’s government said Friday the Petro-Rodriguez meeting aimed to “contribute to the solution of Venezuela’s political crisis.”
However, it is not clear how this can be achieved.
Ronal Rodriguez Duran, a researcher at the Venezuelan Observatory at the Universidad del Rosario, said Petro’s leverage is limited with respect to any potential arbitration, given that his term expires in August. Future relations with Venezuela will likely also be influenced by who next takes power in Colombia.
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