Colombia and Venezuela on Sunday opened a key bridge linking the countries that had been closed for almost seven years amid political tensions, launching a new era of improved relations under Colombia’s new leftist president.
Delegations led by Colombian trade minister Germán Umaña and the governor of Venezuela's Tachira state, Freddy Bernal, met in the middle of the “Tienditas” bridge for an opening ceremony with balloons the colors of each country's flag.
In 2019, Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolás Maduro ordered more than a dozen cargo containers placed on the bridge to symbolically block it to protest attempts by the opposition to bring humanitarian aid into Venezuela from Colombia. Following the inauguration as president in Colombia of Gustavo Petro - a former guerrilla - diplomatic and commercial relations with Venezuela were reestablished in September. ”Tienditas” was the last remaining bridge linking the countries to be reopened along the countries’ 2200-kilometer border.
Pedro Benítez, a political analyst and professor at the Central University of Venezuela, told The Associated Press the key symbol of the restoration of relations was the first face-to-face meeting between Petro and Maduro in November.
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