Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez and Colombian President Gustavo Petro issued joint statements following their first bilateral meeting since the departure of Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela. Petro met Rodríguez, who assumed power on an interim basis after the toppling of her former boss by US Delta forces in January.
The Colombian president said joint military efforts would aim at “freeing border areas from mafias engaged in illegal businesses, including cocaine trafficking, illicit gold mining, human trafficking and rare minerals.”
“Both countries have undertaken the task of making military plans, but also the immediate establishment of mechanisms for information sharing and developing intelligence,” Rodríguez said.
Rodríguez assumed power in Venezuela after a US military raid in Caracas on January 3 which captured socialist president Maduro and brought him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
Since Maduro’s departure and Rodríguez’s softened stance towards the United States, the Trump administration has backed her government, which has recently opened the minerals and oil industry to US companies.
Rodríguez said on Thursday that relations between Venezuela and the United States meant “cooperation that is a win-win for both countries.” The US embassy resumed operations in Caracas at the end of March.
Petro has criticised the US operation and has repeatedly been targeted by criticism from US President Donald Trump, who has accused the leftist leader of not doing enough to curb drug production.
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