Venezuela, Colombia finalise border reopening

Venezuela and Colombia were set Sunday to reopen the last stretch of their shared border that had remained closed for years in a diplomatic dispute now settled under new leadership.

The South American neighbors were scheduled to reopen the Tienditas bridge, the last crossing still inaccessible since they restored diplomatic ties last year.

The neighbors share a 2,200-kilometer (1,350-mile) border riddled with armed groups that have created insecurity by fighting over lucrative illegal trades such as drug trafficking and smuggling.

It was partially closed seven years ago and completely blocked in 2019 when Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro broke off diplomatic ties after Colombia under then president Ivan Duque questioned his 2018 re-election.

Many other countries, including the United States, did not recognise Maduro's victory either in an election widely condemned as rigged.

As soon as he came to power last year, Colombia's first-ever left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, sought to reestablish ties and pushed for a reopening of the border.

On September 26, goods trucks were allowed through border crossings that had been open only to pedestrians.

Air links have also since resumed.

The countries hope to reinvigorate trade which stood at $7.2 billion in 2008, but has collapsed since then.

On Sunday they will reopen the Tienditas bridge which connects the cities of Urena in Venezuela and Cucuta in Colombia, and had until now been blocked by containers placed there by the Venezuelan army.

"Everything is ready for the inauguration of the binational bridge! We continue to take steps to normalize the border with sister Colombia," Maduro tweeted on Saturday.

Venezuela has suffered years of economic crisis that has seen poverty soar and millions of people leave the country, many to settle in Colombia.

Venezuela is one of the guarantors of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the ELN guerrilla group. The goal of them is to reach a peace agreement like one signed in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

On Saturday, Petro announced a ceasefire agreement with the ELN and other armed groups from January 1 to June 30.