Gustavo Petro’s win in Colombia opens new era in relations between Caracas and Bogotá
EL PAISJun 24, 2022
On Sun., Colombia's new ambassador to Venezuela, former Sen. Armando Benedetti, arrived in Caracas, while Venezuela's new ambassador to Colombia, former Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia, reportedly arrived in Bogotá.
This marks the full restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries after a three-year break caused by political tensions between socialist Venezuela and Colombia's successive conservative presidents.
Guaidó's bid to oust Venezuela's Maduro has clearly failed, and Bogotá should restore its relations with Caracas for both Colombia and Venezuela's benefit. The normalization will reduce trade costs, improve the lives of the border population, and possibly make Maduro more willing to listen to Petro.
Establishing dialogue with Maduro could certainly help restore democracy in Venezuela. But for this to happen, Petro must be adamant in his condemnation of the human rights abuses going on and advocate fully for freedom in Venezuela. Colombia's problems cannot be solved until the root causes of the crisis in Venezuela are addressed.
Maduro's 2018 re-election was a sham that failed to comply with even the minimum international standards for credibility. The purpose of the rigged vote was merely to consolidate a dictatorship marred with human rights abuses, corruption and economic mismanagement. No country that pretends to care about democracy and human rights should even consider recognizing his illegitimate government.