After a pause of three years, Colombia and Venezuela have revived their full diplomatic relations.
On Sunday, new Colombian ambassador, Armando Benedetti, reached the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, restoring the two countries bilateral diplomatic ties.
In his twitter message, new envoy said, “Relations with Venezuela should never have been severed. We are brothers and an imaginary line cannot separate us.”
Benedetti was welcomed by Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Pena Ramirez, who tweeted that “our historical ties summon us to work together for the happiness of our peoples”.
Colombia’s new left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, and Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced on August 11 that they planned to restore diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2019.
Caracas had broken off ties with Bogota early that year after members of the Venezuelan opposition tried to cross from Colombian territory with trucks loaded with food and medicine.
It also closed the border, saying the aid masked an attempted coup by the opposition with support from the United States. Embassies and consulates in both countries were shut down, and flights between the neighbors were grounded.
