Colombia and Venezuela are set to reopen two essential border crossings to cargo transport, because the neighbouring international locations proceed to fix relations after years of political battle.
The reopening – which can see items like coal, bathroom paper and fruit moved by means of crossings between the Colombian metropolis of Cucuta and the Venezuelan state of Tachira – was a key marketing campaign promise of Colombia’s new left-wing President Gustavo Petro.
Petro is about to attend a reopening ceremony at Simon Bolivar Worldwide Bridge, one of many essential crossings that connects the 2 international locations, Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti reported from the bridge on Monday morning.
“There are a selection of vehicles ready, full of cargo, to cross once more – which hasn’t occurred formally … since 2015, apart from a couple of very restricted events,” Rampietti stated.
“Clearly this implies lots symbolically; symbolically [it] exhibits the top of this … form of chilly conflict that has existed between Colombia and Venezuela for a variety of years now,” he stated, including that the hope is that the resumption of commerce will assist enhance the financial state of affairs within the space.
The reopening comes weeks after Petro and his Venezuelan counterpart President Nicolas Maduro introduced that they deliberate to revive diplomatic relations, which had been severed in 2019.
Petro has stated he’ll recognise Maduro and work with the Venezuelan authorities on a number of points, together with preventing insurgent teams alongside the porous border between the nations.
Business flights between the international locations will even resume quickly, doubtlessly enabling billions of {dollars} in commerce after years of icy bilateral relations and heavily-restricted financial ties. Caracas and Bogota even have introduced intentions to revive army relations.
On Monday, 4 vehicles from firm Transporte Condor had been loaded with bathroom paper, plastic glasses, medical provides and textiles to cross early from Cucuta. The products, weighing 120 tonnes, are valued at some $80,000, supervisor Diego Bohorquez stated.
The border has already been opened to pedestrians, with many Venezuelans crossing to purchase fundamental items amid their nation’s long-running financial disaster. Cargo transport had beforehand solely been allowed by means of one northern crossing.
The border has lengthy been residence to dozens of irregular crossings, gas and meals smuggling and drug trafficking. And the closures haven’t ended the transportation of varied items – together with some over filth roads by armed teams – into Venezuela. Legal teams even have used the roads for trafficking operations.
Retailers on either side of the two,219km (1,379-mile) frontier have been eagerly awaiting the normalisation since Petro’s June election, hopeful open commerce will permit them entry to uncooked supplies and new clients.
Commerce between the 2 international locations might whole greater than $600m this 12 months, the Colombian authorities has stated. It totalled $7bn in 2008, earlier than Venezuela’s then-president Hugo Chavez froze it to protest a Bogota-Washington army deal.
Individuals alongside the border have expressed the hope that the reopening will herald much-needed commerce to the area.
“It is going to be one thing very constructive for each international locations, Colombia and Venezuela,” stated Michael, a Venezuelan man who solely gave The Related Press his first identify, who was crossing the Simon Bolivar bridge between the 2 international locations on Sunday.
“The borders will open, there will probably be extra commerce. And I hope that in a couple of months, it is going to additionally open for personal vehicles. There will probably be extra jobs.”
In 2015, the smuggling of low-cost, subsidised items from Venezuela into Colombia skyrocketed. This was adopted by an incident the place three Venezuelan troopers had been killed, apparently by smugglers, after which Maduro ordered the closure of authorized crossing factors.
In 2019, Caracas broke off relations with Bogota after Venezuelan opposition activists tried to ship help vehicles from Colombia. Maduro’s authorities stated it was a entrance for an tried coup.
Colombia has beforehand accused Venezuela of providing help and shelter to armed teams within the border area, a declare bolstered by a report by Human Rights Watch in March.