Maduro to fully open border with Colombia

CARACAS (AP):

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday announced his intention to fully open the border crossings with Colombia starting January 1, a measure repeatedly postponed following the restoration of diplomatic and commercial ties between the South American neighbours.

Relations between the countries were broken off in 2019, but Maduro has said the environment is conducive to improved ties with the election of Gustavo Petro as Colombia’s first leftist president. The neighbours resumed diplomatic relations in September.

“I am going to announce that we will be completely opening the border, for all of western Venezuela with Colombia, for the passage of vehicles, motorcycles, trucks” as of January 1, Maduro said on state television.

“We are preparing everything to comply with what we announced, to fulfil what was promised to President Gustavo Petro,” he said.

Petro has recognised Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. His predecessor, Iván Duque, along with dozens of other countries, had said Maduro was returned to power in 2018 in fraudulent elections.

Petro also promoted the reopening of the countries’ shared border on September 26. Symbolically, the crossing of trucks from both sides of the border was allowed while restrictions remained on private vehicles and buses.