CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) 鈥� Venezuela’s , on Friday welcomed Colombian President Gustavo Petro at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, their first meeting since the U.S. military and his wife from their home in January.
The leaders were expected to discuss an extensive bilateral agenda, including migration, defense, border security, industrial cooperation and trade.
Petro and Rodr铆guez were expected to meet last month at their shared border, but citing 鈥渇orce majeure,鈥� which they did not explain, and simply said it would take place at a later time.
Ahead of Friday鈥檚 meeting, Petro announced that his delegation, which includes top military and police officials, will tackle border security with Rodr铆guez.
The focus remains on the , where rival armed groups fight for territorial control and Petro stressed the necessity of 鈥渃lose collaboration on intelligence,鈥� warning that without it, 鈥渂ombs land in the wrong places … and end up killing civilians.鈥�
Colombia-Venezuela ties have long been on the rocks. Petro did not recognize Maduro as Venezuela鈥檚 legitimate president in the wake of the contested July 2024 elections that triggered protests, which sparked widespread repression. Still, he maintained diplomatic ties with Caracas.
Colombia鈥檚 government has said that the Petro-Rodr铆guez meeting on Friday aims to 鈥渃ontribute to a resolution of Venezuela鈥檚 political crisis.鈥�
However, it鈥檚 unclear how this can be achieved.
Ronal Rodr铆guez Dur谩n, a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory at the Universidad del Rosario, said Petro鈥檚 leverage is limited regarding any potential mediation, given that his term ends in August. Future ties with Venezuela will likely also be influenced by who takes power next in Colombia.
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