Venezuela cancels Petro-Rodríguez border meeting citing security
Venezuelan and Colombian governments postponed a scheduled Friday meeting between leaders at the international bridge, citing force majeure without elaborating.
4:29 PM
Venezuela and Colombia announced Thursday the suspension of a planned meeting between Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, scheduled for Friday at the Atanasio Girardot International Bridge in Cúcuta.
Both governments issued a joint statement saying the encounter was postponed "for reasons of force majeure" to an unspecified future date. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil confirmed the cancellation on social media, while Colombian officials provided no formal public explanation.
The meeting was to take place on the bridge connecting the two nations. According to Colombian media reports, Venezuela cited security concerns as the reason for the cancellation, though no additional details were provided. The decision came with such short notice that production staff were dismantling the event stage while Colombian Foreign Ministry officials were still distributing press credentials to journalists.
This was to be the first international trip for Rodríguez in her role as interim president and the first meeting between the leaders of Caracas and Bogotá since the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. operation conducted in Caracas earlier this year.
The suspended meeting was intended to address economic cooperation and border security matters between the two countries, according to the joint statement. The governments said the encounter aimed to continue dialogue on bilateral issues following years of tensions between Venezuela and Colombia.
No new date has been set for the rescheduled meeting. Colombian officials have not issued a formal statement explaining their government's position on the cancellation or next steps in the diplomatic process.