BOGOTÁ, Colombia—The leaders of Colombia and Venezuela met Tuesday for the first time in six years, the latest sign of how new leftist governments in Latin America are breaking from a U.S.-led campaign that unsuccessfully sought to oust Venezuela’s authoritarian President
Nicolás Maduro.
Colombian President
Gustavo Petro,
a former guerrilla who once held close ties to Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party, traveled to Caracas to have lunch with Mr. Maduro and discuss bilateral trade and the bolster of regional environmental-protection efforts. Mr. Petro said he also called on Mr. Maduro to commit to promoting democracy in the region and ending political persecution.
The meeting comes weeks after both countries restored diplomatic relations and reopened their long-closed border.
People displayed a banner showing Colombian and Venezuelan flags stitched to each other, as the land border between the two countries officially reopened in September.
Photo:
Agence France-Presse/Getty Image
Countries across the Americas are considering how to approach Venezuela’s political stalemate and economic collapse that has led more than seven million Venezuelans to leave the country during Mr. Maduro’s tenure. The Biden administration says it is working to encourage negotiations between Mr. Maduro and the opposition to set a timeline for presidential elections, moving away from a Trump-era policy of economic sanctions.
Venezuelan state television called it a historic moment as Messrs. Petro and Maduro, both dressed in white ceremonial shirts, smiled and walked side-by-side into the Miraflores presidential palace. One top Maduro aide called it a “meeting of love.”
“It’s been a fruitful first meeting,” Mr. Maduro said in a news conference. Mr. Petro added that the neighboring nations’ “brotherhood should have never been broken,” referring to his predecessor who allied with the U.S. in an effort to unseat Mr. Maduro.
Mr….
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