Maduro to fully open Venezuela - Colombia border

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday announced his decision to fully open the border crossings with Colombia from January, a measure repeatedly postponed following the restoration of diplomatic and commercial ties between the South American neighbors. Relations between the countries were broken off in 2019, but Maduro has said the environment is conducive to improved ties with the election of Gustavo Petro as Colombia's first leftist president.

The neighbors resumed diplomatic relations in September. Colombian Gustav Petro has recognized Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela and also promoted the reopening of the countries' shared border on Sept. 26. In the first week of November, the first commercial flight by a Colombian airline in years arrived in Venezuela.