Colombia and Venezuela will appoint new ambassadors in their respective capitals when Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petros takes office next month, officials said, in an effort to rebuild diplomatic relations after years of strain. The decision was announced in a joint statement Thursday by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faria and Colombian Foreign Minister-in-waiting Alvaro Leyva after a meeting in the border town of San Cristobal. Leyva read a statement saying both men “expressed their desire to move forward with a work agenda towards the gradual normalization of bilateral relations starting August 7, naming ambassadors and diplomatic and consular officials.” They also reaffirmed “their willingness to make joint efforts to guarantee security and peace on the borders of our two countries,” he added. Relations between Colombia and Venezuela have been strained for years over a number of issues, including an increase in the number of Venezuelan migrants crossing the countries’ shared border amid a socioeconomic crisis in their country. The 2,219-kilometer (1,379-mile) border has been the site of confrontations between armed groups, including the dissident National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). That has fueled tensions between the neighbors, with outgoing Colombian President Ivan Duque accusing his counterpart Nicolas Maduro of harboring armed groups and Maduro claiming Duque was involved in efforts to topple his government. Duque also refused to recognize Maduro’s re-election in 2019, exacerbating the diplomatic rift. But Petro, who will become Colombia’s first leftist president when he is sworn in on August 7, had promised to improve relations with Venezuela. Former rebel Petro also called on the ELN to work with the government on a ceasefire, saying “the time for peace has come”. Leyva, the country’s new foreign minister, called Thursday’s meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart “historic” and said they discussed “the gradual opening of the border.” The borders were closed between 2019 and October 2021, while embassies and consulates in both countries were closed and flights between the neighbors ground to a halt. Colombia still struggles with years of deadly armed violence between state security forces, right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing rebel groups such as the FARC. A landmark report released in June by the country’s Truth Commission found that at least 450,664 people had been killed in nearly six decades of conflict, a toll it called “massive and unbearable.” For its part, Venezuela has been plagued by political instability in recent years. Economic turmoil, food and medicine shortages and violence have forced millions of people to flee the country, according to a United Nations count.
