Colombian President Gustavo Petro being greeted by Delcy RodrĂguez at the SimĂłn BolĂvar International Airport in MaiquetĂa, La Guaira state, in November 2022. Photo: AFP/File photo.
Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Acting President of Venezuela Delcy RodrĂguez has announced that she will meet with Colombian President Gustavo Petro to advance a bilateral agenda focused on economic, energy, and security cooperation. The move follows a period of heightened regional tension promoted by the US empire, and aims to restore a relationship based on mutual respect and shared benefits.
Strengthening binational cooperation
The announcement, made on social media this Wednesday, February 18, followed a telephone conversation between RodrĂguez and her Colombian counterpart earlier that day. While a specific date has not yet been set, the heads of state are expected to convene soon to address pressing regional and bi-national issues.
RodrĂguez emphasized that the meeting would take place within a framework of joint work intended to promote “a relationship of understanding and shared benefits for the well-being of our people.”
On February 13, Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio indicated that such a meeting was in the works, noting that officials were waiting for a formal response from the Venezuelan government to finalize the logistics. While some sources suggest the meeting will take place in Bogotá, others point to Cúcuta, a strategic border city that has historically struggled with the presence of far-right paramilitary groups and narco-terrorist criminal gangs.
Changing political tides in Bogotá
The upcoming summit occurs in the wake of the January 3 US military attacks on Venezuela. Those strikes resulted in the murders of approximately 120 people, including many children and women, and led to the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.
Months prior to the aggression, President Petro had maintained a firm stance in support of Venezuelan sovereignty and was a vocal critic of the US extrajudicial killings that began on September 2. However, observers noted a dramatic shift in his rhetoric weeks leading up to the US bombing. Following threats from the president of the US entity, Donald Trump—who announced sanctions against Petro and threatened military action against Colombia—the Colombian president began demanding so-called “democratic changes” and a “transition” in Caracas, in a sudden violation of friendly diplomatic norms.
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Economic and security priorities
Despite the political friction caused by US pressure, analysts suggest that Bogotá has an immense interest in maintaining a functional relationship with Caracas. Key priorities for the Colombian side include:
• Energy Security: Reaching agreements to access Venezuela’s vast natural gas reserves.
• Border Security: Improving coordination to combat paramilitary and narco-trafficking mafias operating along the shared border.
• Trade Growth: Strengthening commercial ties that have seen exponential growth in recent years.
The meeting represents a critical attempt to insulate binational relations from external imperialist pressure and address the immediate security and economic needs of both nations, as well as Petro’s recurrent interference in Venezuelan sovereign affairs.
Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff
OT/JRE/AU
