Venezuela expressed this Saturday its support for the six-month ceasefire recently agreed between the government of Colombia and several armed actors, after a meeting in Caracas between the leaders of both countries.
The endorsement of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, came the same week that the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) revealed that they would not be part of the bilateral ceasefire, denying the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, and precipitating a crisis in the peace process with the last recognized insurgency in the country.
I share the joint statement with the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro. We continue on the path of strengthening Colombian-Venezuelan relations, which contribute to the development and well-being of our peoples. pic.twitter.com/dTPJSQBFNU
— Nicolas Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) January 8, 2023
Venezuela, as a guarantor country, “will support the Colombian government in its objective to maintain the bilateral cessation,” Maduro and Petro said in a joint statement published at the end of the three-hour meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace.
The dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who continue to be armed after the 2016 peace process, the Clan del Golfo -the largest drug gang in Colombia- and the paramilitaries of the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada did avail themselves of the Bilateral ceasefire proclaimed by Petro on New Year’s Eve, says a report from Afp.
But the ELN – which has some 3,500 men under arms and is active on the porous 2,200-kilometer border between the two countries – rejected the truce, alleging that it was not part of the first round of peace negotiations it held with government delegates in Caracas. between November and December.
The talks entered their second cycle at the end of this month, with a ceasefire on the agenda.
The third meeting between the two presidents, the second to be held in Caracas, took place a week after the total reopening of the common border crossings, which were completely closed in 2019 after the break in diplomatic relations.
The leaders celebrated “the progress achieved in the opening of border bridges” and anticipated a future agreement for the “reciprocal promotion and protection of investments,” in their statement.
“We had a broad and very fruitful meeting,” Maduro wrote on his Twitter account after the meeting, which was republished by Petro. “We have a clear path for joint work that will continue to yield positive results for our countries, in different areas. Long live the union between Colombia and Venezuela!” stressed the Colombian ruler.
This is the joint statement of the governments of Colombia and Venezuela pic.twitter.com/ubrBeqagf7
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 7, 2023
Petro visited Maduro on November 1, the first official arrival of a Colombian president in Venezuela in nine years.
In that meeting, both advocated for the reinstatement of Venezuela in the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Inter-American Human Rights System. They also signed a declaration to activate “joint security mechanisms” on the common border, badly hit by drug trafficking, smuggling and armed groups.
That same month, the leaders met in Egypt during the COP27 environmental summit to promote an alliance for the protection of the Amazon.
Colombian government asks FARC dissidents to join the ceasefire
Caracas broke diplomatic relations with Bogotá in 2019 after the support that Petro’s predecessor, the right-wing Iván Duque, gave to opposition leader Juan Guaidó, whom he recognized as president in charge because he considered that Maduro’s re-election in 2018 was fraudulent.
Petro is scheduled to meet on Monday with his Chilean counterpart, Gabriel Boric, during a state visit to that country.
With information from Afp and El Espectador.
