Story perspectives

Petro Meets Rodríguez, Trade Surges to $1 B Amid Border Talks

4/25/2026

Summary

Petro Meets Venezuela

Colombian President Gustavo Petro will meet Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela on April 24, 2026.
Agenda covers Catatumbo border security, joint intelligence and a military-police delegation ordered by Petro.
Bilateral talks since U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro on Jan 3, 2026 will sign act of III Commission on Neighborhood and Integration, with trade having risen from $200 million to over $1 billion (600% increase) and Colombia posting a $1 billion surplus in 2025.

Summary

Jenca Briefs Council

Miroslav Jenca briefed the Security Council on 21 April 2026 about Colombia’s peace process.
The Council noted 491 peace signatories killed, four during the period, and urged protection for women, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups.
Olga Quintero, a peasant leader from Catatumbo, received a farm while staff reported drone-damaged homes and explosives near schools in a Catatumbo hamlet visited in January.

History

Historical Context

After Hugo Chávez expelled Colombia’s ambassador and halted bilateral trade in 2002, the border standoff cut cross-border commerce sharply. A 2005 summit between Chávez and President Álvaro Uribe restored relations, but ties broke again in 2019 and were only renewed in 2022 under President Gustavo Petro. Today, Petro-Rodríguez talks revive the 2002 rupture while seeking Catatumbo security and renewed trade.

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Petro Meets Venezuela

Colombian President Gustavo Petro will meet Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela on April 24, 2026.
Agenda covers Catatumbo border security, joint intelligence and a military-police delegation ordered by Petro.
Bilateral talks since U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro on Jan 3, 2026 will sign act of III Commission on Neighborhood and Integration, with trade having risen from $200 million to over $1 billion (600% increase) and Colombia posting a $1 billion surplus in 2025.

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