The United States will respect Petro’s desire to restore relations with Venezuela

The U.S. will respect Colombia’s president-elect, leftist Gustavo Pedro,’s decision to restore ties with Venezuela, the country’s ambassador in Bogotá said.

After taking office on August 7, Pedro announced the reactivation of diplomatic and trade channels with Nicolás Maduro, which had been broken since 2019.

Neither the United States nor Ivan Dug’s outgoing administration recognized the Chavista leader, deeming his re-election fraudulent.

Still, “we respect the sovereign decisions (…) of any country to deal with the situation in Venezuela,” White House spokesman Francisco Palmieri said.

“We’re going to see what decisions the new government makes, but it’s their decision and we’ll do everything possible to maintain good relations with Colombia,” the ambassador told W Radio.

Pedro and Maduro have already spoken by phone after being elected Colombia’s first left-wing president on June 19.

The future ruler hopes to drive out armed groups operating on both sides of the 2,200-kilometer border with Maduro.

He also hopes to restore the fertilizer production of Venezuelan company Monomeros, which is at the center of a dispute between Caracas and opposition leader Juan Quito, whom the United States recognizes as interim president.

Within the framework of new relations with Washington, Petro wants to modify a free trade agreement in place since 2012 to stop importing certain goods in favor of strengthening domestic agricultural production.

Without scrutinizing the initiative, Palmyri commented that his country wants to “work with the new government, especially in its efforts to improve the country’s economy and promote more economic equality.”

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