Newly appointed Venezuelan Ambassador in Colombia Félix Plasencia (left) and Colombian Ambassador in Venezuela Armando Benedetti. Photo: Alba Ciudad.
On Thursday, August 11, the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, appointed Félix Plasencia as Venezuela’s ambassador to Colombia, praising his “great diplomatic and political experience and capacity for relations.” Within minutes, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, announced the appointment of Colombian Senator Armando Benedetti as the ambassador of his country to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
President Maduro, during a ceremony held at the Simón Bolívar Park in La Carlota, announced that the Foreign Ministry of Venezuela “has requested the approval [of Félix Plasencia] from the Colombian Foreign Ministry and he will soon be in Bogotá,” thus restarting a new stage in Venezuela-Colombia relations.
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro also announced the formalization of the appointment of Armando Benedetti as Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela, “waiting for the approval of the government [of Venezuela], for the arduous task of normalizing relations between the two countries.”
Petro stressed that Benedetti’s priority will be “to reestablish the institutionality that existed for decades so that the peoples of the two sister nations can guarantee their freedoms and ensure that wealth can be generated for both peoples.”
Former minister for foreign affairs Felix Plasencia, appointed Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia. Petro reciprocates appointing Senator Armando Benedetti https://t.co/l5wnGkJly1
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) August 12, 2022
On the other hand, President Maduro emphasized that Venezuela will advance at “a safe pace, moving forward in the reestablishment and reconstruction of political, diplomatic and commercial relations.” He announced that a special team on Colombia-Venezuela relations has been formed, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, to “work on a very serious plan for the scheduled, progressive opening of the border.”
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The rapprochement between Colombia and Venezuela began on June 22 through a telephone call between President Maduro and then president-elect of Colombia, Gustavo Petro.
Newly appointed Colombian ambassador to Caracas. We will reach 10 billion dollars trade balance with Venezuela. We won’t let imaginary barriers separate again our people. https://t.co/AieNfuMdyL
— Orinoco Tribune (@OrinocoTribune) August 12, 2022
The determination to appoint ambassadors was reaffirmed on July 28, after a meeting between Venezuelan Foreign Minister Carlos Faría and his Colombian counterpart Álvaro Leyva Durán, held in the Venezuelan state of Táchira.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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