Venezuela seeks to reestablish military relations with Colombia, says minister

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela will search to reestablish its navy ties with neighbor Colombia, the nation’s protection minister stated on Tuesday, after years of conflictive relations between the 2 nations.

Venezuelan Common Vladimir Padrino stated he had acquired directions from President Nicolas Maduro to contact Colombian Protection Minister Ivan Velasquez so as to “reestablish their navy relations,” in line with the Venezuelan protection ministry’s Twitter account.

Colombia’s protection ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The 2 nations are within the technique of repairing diplomatic relations, after Caracas totally broke them off in 2019, following a U.S.-backed try by the Venezuelan opposition to maneuver humanitarian assist into the nation from Colombia, which Caracas considered aggression from Bogota.

A 2021 audit from the U.S. Company for Worldwide Improvement (USAID) discovered the previous U.S. Trump administration’s assist effort was not deliberate in alignment with humanitarian ideas.

On July 28, Colombia’s new authorities and Venezuela introduced they might appoint ambassadors to the 2 nations’ capitals after years with out diplomatic relations and can work to spice up safety alongside their shared border.

Colombia and Venezuela share a 2,219-kilometer land border with dozens of irregular crossings and actions comparable to gasoline and meals smuggling, in addition to drug trafficking. Beforehand, Colombian and Venezuelan officers have traded blame for the dearth of safety.

Colombia’s newly appointed leftist President Gustavo Petro, nonetheless, has already introduced his willingness to reestablish and normalize border crossings.

(This story corrects to say tweet was from protection ministry’s account, not Padrino’s account)

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Further reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Enhancing by Aurora Ellis)