Colombian President Gustavo Petro travelled to Caracas on Friday for talks with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez, marking the first official visit by a foreign head of state to Venezuela since former president Nicolás Maduro was seized in a US military operation on 3 January. The two leaders met at the Miraflores Palace and emerged with a landmark security announcement: Colombia and Venezuela will develop joint military plans and establish immediate intelligence-sharing mechanisms along their shared 2,200-kilometre border, with the stated aim of ridding the region of criminal organisations engaged in cocaine trafficking, illegal gold mining, human trafficking, and the extraction of rare minerals.
The visit came after weeks of diplomatic uncertainty. A bilateral summit had been planned for mid-March in Cúcuta, the Colombian city that sits on the border, but was cancelled at the last minute by Caracas citing force majeure — with the press already waiting at the crossing. Petro eventually signalled his resolve during a visit to Spain, remarking publicly: "If Mohammed will not come to me, I will go to the mountain. So I'm going to Caracas." Technical delegations from both countries, totalling nearly 180 officials, had already begun talks on border, migration, energy, trade, and food security before the presidential meeting was confirmed Thursday evening.
The security dimension of the talks is freighted with decades of unresolved conflict. Two armed groups — the ELN (National Liberation Army), a guerrilla movement of more than 60 years, and Segunda Marquetalia, a dissident faction of the now-dissolved FARC — operate across both countries, controlling narcotics routes and illegal mining concessions. The border region of Catatumbo, a jungle area in northeastern Colombia, has been one of the most violent flashpoints. Military sources note that Bogotá and Caracas had not shared intelligence for decades, a gap that widened sharply after diplomatic relations ruptured in 2019. The ELN's entrenchment in Venezuelan territory has long been seen as a strategic obstacle: analysts have argued that without Venezuelan cooperation, neither a military defeat of the group nor a peace deal is realistic.
Beyond security, significant economic interests shaped the agenda. Colombia is seeking to reactivate the Antonio Ricaurte binational gas pipeline amid declining domestic natural gas production, and has expressed interest in Venezuela's electricity sector. Rodríguez, who has been operating under close US oversight since January, has been pushing reforms to attract foreign investment in oil, gas, and mining — sectors the Trump administration is watching closely after easing some sanctions. The joint crackdown on illegal mining also aligns with Washington's interest in securing access to gold and rare mineral deposits currently controlled by criminal networks. As one diplomatic source put it, the plan benefits all three countries: Venezuela wants US forces out, Colombia needs cross-border cooperation to end its armed conflict, and Washington wants stability for investors.
The visit carries wider symbolic weight. Petro, historically an ally of Maduro who initially condemned his capture as a kidnapping, is now the first foreign leader to formally engage with the Rodríguez government — a signal that some analysts interpret as a de facto normalisation of her presidency. Notably, Rodríguez has not announced plans for new elections, as the Venezuelan constitution requires in the absence of a head of state, and the question of political transition remains unresolved. Hours after Petro's departure, Rodríguez held her first official meeting with the new US representative in Venezuela, John Barrett, underlining the rapid diplomatic realignment now under way in Caracas.