[Politics] Presidents of Venezuela and Colombia meet at the presidential palace in Caracas

[TheKnight.]

 

CARACAS, VENEZUELA — 

The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, arrived in Caracas on Saturday to meet privately with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, with whom he hopes to talk about migration, consular and climate issues, according to unofficial versions.

 

He is accompanied on his official trip to Venezuela by the Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva; the Minister of Mines, Andrés Camacho; the Minister of Environment, Susana Muhamad; and the president of the state hydrocarbons company Ecopetrol, Ricardo Roa, among other officials.

 

At 3:00 pm, Maduro received him with honors at the Presidential Palace in Miraflores. Petro's visit takes place within the framework of the first anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Venezuela and Colombia, after those ties were interrupted since 2019, during the government of Ivan Duque, due to his ignorance of the Venezuelan leader as a legitimate president.

 

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil received President Petro at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, in La Guaira, in central Venezuela.

 

 

“We are sure that through dialogue and understanding we will be able to make progress on plans for the well-being of our peoples,” the foreign minister said on his X account (formerly called Twitter).

 

According to Gil, “Venezuela and Colombia are brother countries whose peoples share history and even the same destiny, which should be, today and always, peace and friendship.”

 

It is expected that Petro will meet with Colombian diplomatic personnel accredited in Caracas. In addition, Petro is expected to participate in the International Book Fair, la Filven, and will discuss with Maduro the risks of a drought in the region.

 

The drought, a concern of Petro

Petro had announced before his trip to Caracas that one of the central issues that he would discuss with Maduro and representatives of his government is “the drought” that is expected in the region starting next month, in order to agree on joint action plans.

 

The Colombian president traveled from San Francisco, United States. It is Petro's fourth visit to Venezuela since he assumed the presidency of his country, in August last year.

 

The Colombian head of state has promoted a negotiated solution between the Maduro government and its opponents to the political crisis in Venezuela.

 

The Maduro government has also been key to the dialogues of the Petro executive branch with the leadership of the guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN), hosting several rounds of talks in Caracas.

 

Colombia is the country with the most Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the world, with 2.8 million people mobilized from the neighboring country to its territory

 

https://www.vozdeamerica.com/a/presidente-colombiano-gustavo-petro-llega-a-caracas-para-reunirse-con-maduro/7360817.html