High-level Colombian officials, including the ministers of foreign relations and defense, met with their Venezuelan counterparts in Caracas on Friday in what acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez said were productive meetings, as she called for a end to U.S. sanctions against her country.
The meeting, the first in-person between the two neighboring South American countries since the ouster in early January of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, was focused on energy cooperation, security and trade, Rodriguez said.
Originally, Rodriguez had been slated to meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro in what would have been her first presidential-level bilateral, but that was canceled due to what the governments said was “force majeure,” without elaborating.
Rodriguez, speaking after meeting with the ministers, said collaboration between the two countries would be hugely fruitful economically and would fulfill the vision of their joint founder, South American liberation hero Simon Bolivar.
“And I want to take this opportunity to also send a message to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to make it clear that unilateral coercive measures against the Venezuelan people affect the peoples of our Latin America,” said Rodriguez.
“The call is for sanctions against Venezuela to be lifted.”
Rodriguez, formerly vice president, has been seeking to attract investors in oil and mining as she attempts to stabilize the country since the capture of Maduro by U.S. forces. Trump has repeatedly praised her, and she has welcomed U.S. officials and potential investors to Caracas. The U.S. and Venezuela have also formally re-established diplomatic ties.
Washington on Friday said it was expanding sanctions waivers on Venezuela to ease investment in energy and allow for fertilizer exports.
PIPELINE REPAIRS
Among those who traveled to Caracas were Colombian defense minister Pedro Sanchez, who met with his counterpart Vladimir Padrino to coordinate security strategies for the shared 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border. Foreign ministers Rosa Villavicencio of Colombia and Yvan Gil of Venezuela also discussed cooperation, they said.
“We have a very active border, and we are calling — and this is what I welcome about that meeting — for immediate coordination, for the permanent exchange of information…in order to combat drug trafficking, for example,” Rodriguez said.
Trump has repeatedly demanded more cooperation from Colombia in the fight against drug trafficking. Petro says there have been record drug seizures during his tenure.
Petro, who had a cordial relationship with Maduro, has had numerous squabbles with Trump, though the two men were each positive after a face-to-face meeting in Washington last month and had a friendly call on Thursday, according to Petro’s office, during which they discussed the economy along the Venezuela-Colombian border.
Colombia and Venezuela have deep historical and cultural ties, especially in border areas where many families are bi-national. Nearly 3 million Venezuelan migrants have settled in Colombia in recent years, fleeing economic collapse in their home country.
