VILLA DEL ROSARIO, Colombia — Javier Giraldo arrived Friday at the Atanasio Girardot Binational Bridge linking Colombia and Venezuela hoping to display a sign requesting his father’s release from a Venezuelan prison during a scheduled meeting between the presidents of both South American countries.
But his hope vanished after the meeting between Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez was abruptly canceled the night before by both governments, citing unforeseen circumstances without elaboration.
“It was the third time this year that I lost hope,” Giraldo said. His 70-year-old father, Javier Giraldo García, has spent the last four years detained at El Rodeo III prison in Guatire, roughly 36 kilometers southeast of Caracas. Though Colombian by birth, the elder Giraldo lived in Venezuela for three decades before being captured in Táchira state and detained on terrorism-related charges, according to his son.
The cancellation underscores the fragile state of Colombia-Venezuela relations and the ongoing human cost for families caught in the diplomatic rift. Colombian prisoners in Venezuela have been released gradually since last year following diplomatic efforts, according to Colombia’s foreign ministry. But figures from Venezuela-based prisoner rights organization Foro Penal show at least eight Colombians and 11 Colombian-Venezuelans remain detained in Venezuelan prisons.
Relatives of those still detained have protested sporadically, gathering near the border bridge to demand answers. Among them was Ninfa Rebolledo, who joined other protesters Friday despite the meeting’s cancellation.
“My son, Albeiro Guevara, is hopeful for a speedy release,” Rebolledo said. Guevara has been imprisoned for over six years on charges of “aggravated trafficking in transport” — a crime he maintains he is innocent of. “He is under the impression that they were going to bring them over and hand them over right here at the international bridge,” she added, speaking by phone with her son every two weeks.
At the bridge connecting Norte de Santander with the Venezuelan state of Táchira, there was no handover — nor any unusual activity — following the cancelation of the first in-person meeting between Petro and Rodríguez. Colombia and Venezuela issued a joint statement late Thursday assuring a meeting would take place at a future date without providing further details.
The diplomatic impasse leaves families like the Giraldos and Rebolledos in limbo, their loved ones’ fates tied to political negotiations that continue to stall. For now, they return home without the answers they sought, waiting for the next opportunity that may never come.
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