Venezuela and Colombia one step closer to normalizing ties with new ambassadors

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hosted an event to welcome the new ambassador from Colombia, the first one since 2019, signaling that the two countries are one step closer to normalizing ties.

Newly appointed Colombian Ambassador, Armando Benedetti, met with Maduro at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas the day after he arrived in Venezuela. 

The Colombian President appointed a new ambassador to Venezuela after he vowed to re-establish relations with its neighboring country.

Petro’s predecessor joined dozens of other countries and withdrew its recognition of Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president after his 2018 re-election, which many have argued was fraudulent.

As a result, Maduro expelled all Colombian diplomats from Venezuela in February 2019, claiming that former President Ivan Duque sought to topple his government.

As Colombia’s first leftist president, Petro has expressed willingness to cooperate and re-establish relationships with Maduro’s regime. The Colombian president has added that he plans to build a new stage of cooperation with its neighbor, which would include reopening the border for commercial traffic, the renewal of military collaboration, and the resumption of consular services.

Venezuela’s new ambassador to Colombia, Felix Plasencia, also arrived at his post on Sunday.

Maduro and Benedetti have not made any public statements about the meeting. However, Benedetti had previously said that he was going to speak to Maduro about a potential presidential meeting with Petro.