Venezuela will try to restore its military ties with neighboring Colombia, the Venezuelan defense minister said yesterday, against the background of years of ongoing conflicts in relations between the two countries, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.

Venezuelan General Vladimir Padrino said he had been instructed by President Nicolás Maduro (pictured) to contact Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velazquez to "restore military relations", Venezuela's defense ministry said.

Colombia's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The two countries are in the process of restoring diplomatic relations after Caracas severed them completely in 2019 following a US-backed attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to bring humanitarian aid into the country from Colombia, which Caracas saw as an act of aggression by Bogota.

Venezuela and Colombia resume diplomatic relations

A 2021 audit by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) found that the former Trump administration in the US had not planned aid in accordance with humanitarian principles.

On July 28, the new governments of Colombia and Venezuela announced that they would appoint ambassadors to the two countries' capitals after years without diplomatic relations and work to increase security along their shared border.

Colombia and Venezuela share a 2,219-kilometer land border and dozens of unregulated crossing points where activities such as fuel trading, fuel and food smuggling, and drug trafficking take place.

In the past, Colombian and Venezuelan officials have traded accusations about the lack of security.

However, the newly elected left-wing president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has already announced his readiness to restore and normalize the work of the border crossing points.

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