The Government of Venezuela estimated that more than 1,300 vehicles crossed the Atanasio Girardot bridge, better known as Tienditas, after the reopening of the border with Colombia last Sunday, in a unprecedented gesture of rapprochement between the two neighboring countries since 2015.
The Venezuelan Minister of Transportation, Ramón Velásquez, affirmed that “more than 977 vehicles and 384 motorcycles” crossed the bridge that connects the towns of Ureña, in the Venezuelan state of Táchira, with Cúcuta, in the Colombian department of Norte de Santander.
Venezuela and Colombia reestablished relations after the arrival of Gustavo Petro at the Palacio de Nariñoafter the rupture of ties in 2019, when the government of the then president Iván Duque recognized Juan Guaidó, an opponent of Nicolás Maduro, as the legitimate Venezuelan president.
On September 26, the passage of cargo vehicles through the border crossings was restored.
The border between Colombia and Venezuela closed for seven yearsbut the coming to power of Petro marked a turning point in 2022 and at the beginning of December the full reopening of the steps was announced.
The bridge represents a symbol of relations, because it was built in 2016, but it was never inaugurated due to political problems.
In 2019, it was blocked by gigantic metal containers set up by the Venezuelan military as a barricade, after the opposition tried to bring alleged humanitarian aid into the country which Caracas described as an attempted invasion.
The reopening of the 2,200-kilometer border tries to recover a commercial exchange that reached 7.2 billion dollars a year in 2008, but barely reached 400 million in 2021.
Also flights were resumed and both governments appointed their respective ambassadors in the neighboring country.
