Colombia, Venezuela to hold key talks on gas, border security

Colombian President Gustavo Petro is visiting Venezuela on Friday for key talks on border security and trade with the country’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez.

The meeting, their first, comes months after the U.S. military seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home in January, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Colombia is lobbying to become a buyer of Venezuelan gas and last month sought an exemption from U.S. sanctions to invest in Venezuelan electricity projects and natural gas ventures, which could include the reopening of a gas pipeline between the neighboring South American countries.

Petro’s administration has also reached agreements with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA to replace the pipeline in the Colombian section.

Petro and Rodríguez are also expected to discuss the presence of illegal armed groups and drug trafficking along their shared border.

“The United States has an interest in Colombia becoming the buyer of Venezuelan gas,” said Ronal Rodríguez Durán, a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory at the Universidad del Rosario.

“Colombia, by virtue of its geographical nature, would become the client that could quickly bring revenue into Venezuela under U.S. supervision,” he added.

The topic was part of discussions during a nearly two-hour meeting between Petro and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in February.

Both leaders described the talks as friendly, marking a shift from weeks earlier when Trump accused Petro of facilitating cocaine flows into the U.S. and threatened possible military action.

According to Petro, they also discussed efforts to revive Venezuela’s economy with Colombia’s assistance, as well as the role of the U.S., which he said should “lift sanctions” on Venezuela.

The Trump administration is aiming to support the revival of Venezuela’s economy by encouraging foreign investment in its vast oil and gas resources after years of decline under the Maduro government, which has led to the migration of at least 7.7 million people.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev