Misión Verdad
Maduro and Petro advancing relations
The fifth meeting in Caracas between the presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, reflects the rapprochement and strengthening of diplomatic relations between the two countries as a shared project. In this frank and constructive dialogue, the interest in maintaining an open channel of communication to jointly address the challenges and opportunities that arise at the binational, regional and international levels was evident.
During their meeting, the leaders reviewed in detail the aspects of the bilateral relationship, expressing satisfaction with the progress made in trade and transportation matters, as well as in the consolidation of a binational energy guarantee network that includes clean energy projects.
“We had a good conversation with our work teams. We reviewed how the relationship between Venezuela and Colombia is evolving and progressing and the new opportunities that are opening up in all fields,” the Venezuelan president said in a statement to the media.
The Heads of State discussed the situation in Ecuador, expressing their solidarity with the government of Mexico after the violation of the principles of International Law by breaking into the embassy of that nation and taking away former Vice President Jorge Glas. They also addressed the situation in Haiti and agreed on the need to seek immediate solutions for that sister nation.
“We had a common vision on the conflicts in the continent, the Celac meeting today, the conflict in Palestine and all the issues of threats of war in the world. In addition, the need to preserve peace in our region, in South America, with care, with good offices, with good joint efforts,” said President Maduro.
Regarding cooperation in security and defense, they pledged to provide an effective response in the fight against organized crime and financial crimes, including the use of cryptocurrencies.
Maduro stressed the importance of working in coordination to preserve peace in the region and expressed his willingness to collaborate in the construction of peace in Colombia. For his part, Petro praised Venezuela’s help in resolving the armed conflict in his country, and proposed a common agenda to promote Latin American integration.
“We talked about issues that have to do with politics, undoubtedly in concrete terms. Political peace and military peace. Venezuela can help us a lot and has done so for years, in governments prior to mine. On the issue of armed conflicts, which were successful in the Santos (Juan Manuel) government, and which must be built now in these governments”, he stated.
Meeting between foreign ministries
Within the framework of this binational rapprochement, the foreign ministers of Venezuela and Colombia met last Monday in Cúcuta to address issues of regional interest. Previously, the governor of the state of Táchira, Freddy Bernal, and the governor of Norte de Santander (Colombia), William Villamizar, held a summit to address common security actions.
During statements to the media, the Colombian diplomat Luis Morillo highlighted the efforts that have been made to strengthen shared trade and security on the border, and reported on the implementation of mixed patrols to combat insecurity in this joint space.
Chancellor Murillo commented that the activities of the Commission for Neighborhood and Integration between Colombia and Venezuela, which promotes economic, social and cultural development on the common border, as well as the improvement of infrastructure and public services, will be intensified. The Commission will focus on areas such as transportation, mobility, migration issues, security, defense, mining and energy. In this regard, the success of the partial agreements on trade and the provision of air traffic services has been highlighted, which augurs well for the future of binational cooperation.
For his part, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil spoke of Caracas’ commitment to the peace processes in Colombia. Venezuela is a guarantor in the Colombian government’s dialogue with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and in the coming days a meeting is expected to be held in Venezuelan territory for the seventh round of negotiations.
He also mentioned the regional issues of impact that he and his Colombian counterpart addressed, such as the recent violation of the Vienna Convention by Ecuador, issues related to the political crisis in Haiti, and on the actions of Colombia with the future pro tempore presidency of Celac, which it will assume in 2025.
Regarding the presidential elections in Venezuela scheduled for July 28, Gil informed the Colombian side of the electoral process, indicating how the nomination of candidates concluded with the participation of 100% of the political organizations registered with the National Electoral Council. An invitation was extended to Colombian observers to participate in the voting.
In this regard, Murillo pointed out the importance of Celac’s electoral observation in the upcoming days of July 28 and expressed that Colombia has always offered its good offices to Venezuela and the international community to seek solutions built by Venezuelans.
Finally, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister took the opportunity to deny the narrative that has been created regarding the “Aragua Train” and its alleged influence and power in the region, which he described as a “fiction created by the international media to try to create a non-existent label, as they did at the time with the “Cartel of the Suns”.
Reaffirming the alliance in the face of attempts at division
The new meeting between Venezuela and Colombia arises after the media’s overinterpretation of President Gustavo Petro’s statements on the Venezuelan elections.
Previously, when the foreign ministries of Colombia and Brazil joined communiqués from other countries in the region regarding the nomination process in Venezuela, we analyzed, following the approach of Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the geopolitical disorientation in Latin America and the dependence on the United States present in many regional leaders, not ruling out the pressures that could be exerted from Washington to force pronouncements and to hinder the normal development of Venezuela’s diplomatic relations with its neighbors.
As well expressed by President Nicolás Maduro in his television program, specific comments such as those made by the Casa de Nariño regarding the Venezuelan electoral scenario do not have to be taken out of their fair dimension of simple differences of points of view to portray them as a symptom of a supposed tension between governments.
“Let’s not scandalize differences that we may have. Life is beautiful when there is a difference of criteria. Nobody will separate us from Colombia, we have great objectives to accomplish together”, said the Venezuelan Head of State.
It is noticeable the presence of actors who intend to return to the climate of confrontation and hostility that prevailed between Bogota and Caracas during the administrations prior to President Petro. This is evident through the media, representatives of the political opposition in Colombia and Venezuela, and even factions within Petro’s government that, aligned to U.S. interests, seek to exacerbate any disagreement to complicate and hinder the progress achieved so far in the diplomatic, political, economic and security fields between both countries.
But the facts speak for themselves. The alarmist forecasts about an imminent fracture in the relationship between the two countries, which emerged days before the leaders’ meeting, have had to be qualified, indirectly admitting that the impasse only existed in the minds of some, not in reality.
What emerged from this meeting is that after years of having to confront a neighboring country that represented a threat to its economic prosperity and national security, Venezuela has shown in the last two years a clear willingness to build a relationship based on mutual respect, cooperation and the search for peaceful solutions. It now has a Colombian government receptive to these shared interests.
Translation by Resumen Latinoamericano – English
Venezuela’s Maduro and Colombia’s Petro Emphasize Peace and Regional Integration Following Talks
The two leaders discussed bilateral cooperation projects and expressed joint positions concerning Ecuador, Haiti and Palestine.
The Venezuelan and Colombian presidents hailed unity and cooperation during a bilateral meeting in Caracas on Tuesday.
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro hosted Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro in Miraflores Palace for the fifth time since the latter took office in August 2022.
Maduro told reporters that the pair and their respective teams had had “a good conversation” to analyze “the evolution of the relations” between the two Latin American countries. He added that the talks covered aspects such as trade, transportation, renewable energies and electricity.
“Our two peoples are one and the same, and we should deepen our integration and unity efforts,” Maduro said.
The Venezuelan and Colombian delegations additionally discussed cooperation opportunities in the oil and natural gas sectors.
One of the main issues brought up by the two presidents was the need to secure peace in the region, with Maduro stating that “the peace of Colombia is the peace of Venezuela” and that his government is always “ready to help.”
Venezuela is serving as a guarantor in dialogue processes between the Colombian governments and two armed insurgent movements: the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) and the Estado Mayor Central (EMC). Several rounds of talks have taken place in Caracas.
The EMC brings together dissident factions from the demobilized FARC guerrilla that either did not subscribe to the 2016 Peace Accords or picked up arms again after the Colombian state failed to honor its side of the bargain.
For his part, Petro highlighted the “spirit of cooperation and understanding” in the meeting, and praised Venezuelan efforts over the years to support peace talks in Colombia.
“We have to make sure that South America is protected against barbarity, against the violence that is springing up around the world,” he told reporters.
The Colombian president went on to state that peace in his country was also tied to “political, social and economic peace” in Venezuela. At the same time, he stressed the need to ramp up coordinated security work to tackle armed groups and illicit economic activities.
According to a joint statement, discussions likewise extended to international matters, with the two leaders condemning the actions of Ecuadorian security forces that stormed the Mexican embassy in Quito to seize Jorge Glas. The former vice president had been granted asylum by the López Obrador government.
Petro and Maduro also coincided in the need to find urgent solutions for the Haitian political crisis and in condemning the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
The relations between the two neighbors had a moment of tension last week as the Venezuelan Foreign Ministry criticized its Colombian counterpart for expressing concerns regarding the registration of candidates for Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election.
In the lead-up to Petro’s visit, Maduro sought to play down any animosity, claiming that he welcomed “differences of opinion” and that Colombia and Venezuela would not be separated.
The talks in Caracas came in the wake of reports that the Petro government has mediated efforts by Colombian corporations to secure compensation for assets nationalized during the Hugo Chávez governments in Venezuela.
According to Bloomberg, Cementos Argos is poised to take over a cement plant near the Venezuelan coast. The company, which controls 35 percent of Colombia’s cement market, had a factory nationalized in 2006 and is allegedly trying to secure a US Treasury license so it is not judged to breach Washington’s unilateral sanctions. Cementos Argos would eye cement exports to the US should it secure a plant in Venezuela.
Similarly, sugar producer Comercializadora Internacional de Azúcares y Mieles (Ciamsa) is looking to be indemnified for a sugar mill expropriated in 2006. Germán Umaña, Colombia’s minister of commerce, trade and tourism who formerly led the Colombian-Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, has been driving negotiations.
Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez pushed multiple legislative efforts to boost the country’s sovereignty in key economic sectors. The efforts drew fierce clashes with both national and foreign corporations which often led to nationalizations. In some cases Caracas managed to agree compensations with corporations, while in others there were no talks.
Several multinational firms pursued litigation and have secured awards from instances such as the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
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