Venezuela and Colombia Restore Diplomatic Ties
With Gustavo Petro as head of state, Colombia is restoring full diplomatic ties with the Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Since 2019, the two governments have had no diplomatic relations. At the time, Colombia’s former president Ivan Duque did not recognize Nicolas Maduro and his government as legitimate representatives of the Venezuelan people.
Instead, Duque recognized Juan Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela. The same action was taken by over 60 countries, including the United States and the member states of the European Union.
Colombia’s diplomatic turnaround was a campaign promise of Petro. It is worth noting that Petro is a former guerilla member and a radical socialist.
Armando Benedetti was chosen as Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela. He was welcomed by Venezuela’s Deputy Foreign Minister Rander Pena Ramirez.
Two weeks ago, Maduro appointed former Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia to the position of Venezuela’s Ambassador to Colombia.
Colombia’s actions illustrate the state of affairs in Latin America. While three years ago most of the region isolated the Maduro regime and condemned the regime for its human rights violations, today the situation could not be more different, as the region is full of socialist administrations.
