Slowly but Surely: Colombia and Venezuela's Reconciliation

After years of bilateral discord, Caracas and Bogota are taking steps to bury the hatchet in what could lead to economic benefits for both sides. Relations broke down at the end of July; Venezuela chose to cut ties with its neighbor and second-largest trading partner after Colombia accused Venezuela before the Organization of American States of hosting Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) camps. But Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and newly inaugurated President Juan Manuel Santos agreed to reconcile differences at the beginning of August. After meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart, Santos said the rapprochement will be taken one day at a time, declaring: “I prefer to take it slowly, so we walk on a solid foundation to prevent a setback tomorrow and return to the problems that we had in the past.”

In the context of a “slowly but surely” approach from Colombia, concrete steps are already underway. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro and his Colombian counterpart, María Angela Holguín, met on Friday in Caracas to inaugurate five bilateral commissions that cover topics including commercial ties, social development in border areas, border infrastructure and security, and the Venezuelan debt. One of the main goals from the commissions involves strengthening the border region. Venezuela will send extra troops to the border to reduce crime in areas where Colombian guerrillas, as well as drug gangs, are known to operate or cross to escape authorities.

Despite rocky relations, mending ties offers benefits for both Andean economies. In July 2009, Venezuela closed its border to Colombian goods as a result of Bogota’s decision to allow U.S. bases to operate inside the country. Caracas’ decision caused a 7.14 percent fall in exports from Colombia to Venezuela. Venezuela serves as Colombia’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, with two-way trade reaching $4 billion last year. La Silla Vacía reports that restored trade ties would help generate employment in Colombia—one of Santos’ top presidential campaign pledges to combat the current unemployment rate of 13 percent. Venezuela would win out as well, given that renewed trade with its neighbor would considerably reduce the prices of food staples the country currently buys from Argentina and Brazil at a time when Venezuelan inflation rates run around 30 percent.

The payment of the Venezuelan debt owed to Colombian exporters is another key step in advancing relations between the two countries. Caracas owes $800 million to Bogota due to the fall in oil prices, which affected access to foreign currency and compromised Venezuelan importers’ ability to make payments. In the latest round of meetings, Venezuela agreed to promptly pay $200 million, of which $70 million will be disbursed to the airlines Avianca and Aires Colombia acceded to review the amount of the debt to prevent extra charges or irregularities; the review will be completed within the next 15 days.

In a recent survey by Centro Nacional de Consultoría, 85 percent of those polled approved of Santos’ meeting with Chávez. In commentary published by El Colombiano, President of the Venezuelan-Colombian Integration Chamber Luis Alberto Russián writes: “We need to reestablish the confidence and credibility not only between governments, but among businessmen.”

Learn More:

• AS/COA Online analysis of the conflict between Colombia and Venezuela.
• Infolatam presents a summary detailing the main points of the recent meeting. Includes video with footage from the encounter between Ministers Holguín and Maduro.
• In El Colombiano and El Tiempo experts comment on what is needed from the bilateral commissions.