What to expect from the reestablishment of relations between Venezuela and Colombia?

The new Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, Armando Benedetti, presented his credentials to President Nicolás Maduro, thus marking the reestablishment of bilateral relations.

The protocol act took place on Monday afternoon at the Miraflores Palace in downtown Caracas, where Maduro and Benedetti held a meeting of approximately half an hour in which they referred to the urgency of reestablishing friendship ties, but in an organized manner.

The arrival of Benedetti, a man so close to Petro that he was his electoral campaign manager, is a “milestone” in the ties between Caracas and Bogotá, warns the analyst and expert in international relations, Luis Peche Arteaga.

His arrival “cuts four years of a policy of total pressure” that Colombia has led since the rejection of Maduro as president by the administration of right-wing leader Iván Duque, in January 2019, he points out.

A new stage is coming that will be far from being “a blank check” for Chavismo, he considers. He does not see Benedetti as an ally “as unconditional as expected.”

“Petro knows that it is a risk to give everything to an administration so marked by human rights, economic crisis and everything that has led to Venezuela. On balance, it will be more favorable towards Maduro, but to whom he is not going to give a blank check, ”he explains.

The resumption of diplomatic relations, commercial cooperation and the reopening of direct air routes between cities of both nations are among the positive aspects, but Peche Arteaga highlights “interesting” statements by Petro and Benedetti.

First, he recalls, the president of Colombia claimed respect for the right to asylum in his country to Diosdado Cabello, considered the second strong man of the ruling party and who demanded that Bogotá repatriate opposition leaders who were refugees in the neighboring country to Venezuela.

“Chavismo, most likely, is going to show off this arrival of Benedetti in Caracas. They are going to display it in style as a symbolic victory. Beyond the symbols, Petro has sought to have a kind of ‘left hand, right hand’ with the theme”, he indicates.

Relations “are beginning to be reborn, despite the obstacles,” thanks to the declaration of intent by political and economic actors from Colombia and Venezuela, even more so with the presence of Benedetti in Caracas, says the international affairs expert, Carlos Romero.

He describes the new Colombian ambassador as “a very active man who knows politics” in both countries, who will be able to face challenges such as migration, the informal economy or violence.

“These are problems that can be addressed if there is a vocation and an institutional commitment that will make it possible to reduce informality, violence, and corruption. Benedetti is going to speed up the reunion” between the two countries, he considers.

The internationalist Giovanna De Michele agrees that there does not seem to be ideological unconditionality and believes that in the coming months the possibility of recovering formal trade will open up, a space that has been “won” by “illicit” trade.

“The purpose is to strengthen the commercial relationship and, secondly, to attend to the requirements of Colombian citizens in Venezuela. They should be exactly the same purposes for Venezuela, even though the government of Nicolás Maduro has not manifested it in such a palpable and concrete way as the government of Gustavo Petro has done, “she said when consulted by VOA.

Pragmatism

Retired ambassador Sadio Garavini believes that the reestablishment of relations could have been considered, as in the case of Chile and Bolivia, but he considers that, given Petro’s “left” position, it was “logical” that relations be reestablished “at all levels”.

“It’s a game of balance,” he points out, recalling the heterogeneity of the Colombian president’s cabinet and insisting that the reestablishment of consular and commercial relations will be “positive” for both populations.

“Benedetti, due to the demonstrations he has given, is basically interested in the commercial relationship,” Garavini points out.

Socorro Ramírez, a doctor in Political Science, agrees with other experts that the Petro government will act with “pragmatism” by avoiding interfering in issues related to “legitimacy” or the way in which the Venezuelan president exercises power.

In his opinion, the Petro government will assume the “interlocution” on issues that require bilateral cooperation, including the reopening of border crossings.

“It is being proposed to the new government that it listen and get closer to all that varied opposition that lives in Colombia and that the Petro government assumes the construction of a foreign policy based on the interests of Colombia and that it serves in some way as a framework to help Venezuela resolve the crisis and that supports an effective negotiation of the opposition and the Venezuelan government”, he said in a colloquium on the implications for Venezuela that Petro is now in power.

Regarding a negotiation with the National Liberation Army (ELN), which “acts binationally,” Ramírez insists that Venezuela’s role is “crucial” to get that guerrilla to accept the negotiation to end their armed resistance.

For De Michele it is still a “premature” issue and he argues that the question should be oriented towards what Venezuela will do with the irregular groups in the country, based on the fact that the Venezuelan government blamed the administration of Iván Duque for the illicit and irregular acts that have occurred in recent years.

Could differences between Petro and Maduro arise at that thorny point? consulted by VOAGaravini recalls the complaints from various organizations, including Insight Crime, about links with military “sectors” involved with Colombian criminal groups.

“That makes the issue of negotiation more complex,” he says, adding that Petro has “greater possibilities” than former president Juan Manuel Santos of reaching a negotiation.

Juan Guaidó, recognized as interim president of Venezuela by dozens of countries, reacted to Benedetti’s arrival in Venezuela by assuring that the new ambassador did not refer to various issues, including the 7 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees, the complex humanitarian emergency, the displacement of indigenous communities by terrorist groups and the “protection” that, according to what he said, President Nicolás Maduro grants to the FARC and ELN dissidents.

In 2015, after a diplomatic crisis with the Colombian government, Maduro ordered to close the passage of vehicles on the border with Colombia and in 2018 the Venezuelan government expelled consular officials.

Relations between Maduro and former president Iván Duque, who recognized Guaidó as interim president, were marked by constant mutual accusations, especially since 2019 when humanitarian aid was attempted to cross the border.

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