Colombia’s Transport Minister Guillermo Reyes Gonzalez confirmed that the two countries have reopened the entire border to ensure the movement of goods and passengers, as well as to promote trade and tourism in Colombia and Venezuela, not only by land, but also by air and water.
The two South American neighbours began reopening their border in September 2022 at the border gate in Tachira state, western Venezuela, after bilateral political relations were restored under the administration of new Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
Colombian authorities had confirmed that since September 2022, progress has been made to reopen the 2,200km border with Venezuela. In November 2022, flights between the capitals of the two countries also resumed. According to official Colombian data, the total trade revenue between the two countries currently stands at 580 million USD.
Caracas severed diplomatic ties with Bogota in February 2019 when right-wing Colombian President Ivan Duque did not recognise President Nicolas Maduro’s re-election and supported opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim president. Caracas also accused Bogota of supporting the Venezuelan opposition's destabilisation campaigns.
In early August 2022, President Gustavo Petro was officially sworn in at Bolivar Square in the presence of the King of Spain, nine heads of state from Latin American countries, many guests representing countries around the world with more than 100,000 supporters. The fact that Colombia had its first leftist president in history has helped improve relations with Venezuela to the joy of the peoples of the two countries.
Venezuela and Colombia officially resumed diplomatic relations since the end of August 2022 through the decision of Gustavo Petro, then just inaugurated as president, to appoint Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela. Colombian Ambassador Armando Benedetti wrote on Twitter that the relationship with Venezuela was never severed, they are brothers, and an imaginary line cannot separate them. According to this diplomat, more than 8 million Colombians live off bilateral trade with Venezuela.
One of the goals of the resumption of this relationship is to restore trade activities between the two countries. In addition to the exchange of ambassadors, the issue of reopening the 2,200km-long border between the two countries, completely closed to motor vehicles and only reopening to pedestrians from the end of 2021 has been prioritised.
The border ban has separated families living on both sides of the border, and has increased the smuggling of goods, drugs and people, by which traffickers have smuggled thousands of Venezuelans to Colombia.
Relations between the two countries were further “warmed up” when in November 2022, President Gustavo Petro visited Venezuela and held talks with his host country counterpart Nicolas Maduro. This was the first contact between the heads of the two South American countries since 2016.
At this meeting, the two leaders discussed a series of issues related to the opening of all border crossings between the two countries, the lifting of trade restrictions, and the fight against organised crime in the region, sharing views on the possibility of Venezuela's re-entry into the Andean Community (CAN) and the Inter-American Human Rights System.
The two leaders of Venezuela and Colombia pledged to work together to resolve outstanding bilateral issues. At the end of the meeting, the two sides signed a joint statement, creating a premise for new developments in bilateral relations in the coming time.
The reopening of all border crossings between Venezuela and Colombia is a testament to the commitment and efforts of the leaders of the two countries. This is also the beginning of trade, goods exchange and travel between the two South American countries, at the same time contributing to promoting security and stability in the Latin American region.
