Colombian President Gustavo Petro met in Caracas on April 24 with Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez for what the Associated Press described as their first meeting since U.S. military forces seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home in January. The talks took place at Venezuela’s Miraflores presidential palace, according to the AP report.
Petro and Rodríguez were expected to cover an extensive bilateral agenda, with discussions listed as spanning migration, defense, border security, industrial cooperation and trade. The meeting also followed an abrupt cancellation of an earlier planned encounter between the two leaders at their shared border, with both governments citing “force majeure” without explaining, and rescheduling to a later date.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Petro said his delegation—described by the AP as including top military and police officials—would focus on border security with Rodríguez. The AP reported that the governments’ attention remained on Catatumbo, a border region where rival armed groups compete for territorial control.
Petro emphasized the role of intelligence-sharing for border security in remarks ahead of the meeting, warning that without close collaboration on intelligence, “bombs land in the wrong places … and end up killing civilians.” The AP report also said the Catatumbo focus reflects concerns about how violence and armed-group activity along the frontier affect civilian lives.
The AP noted that Colombia-Venezuela relations have long been strained. Petro did not recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president after the contested July 2024 elections that triggered protests and widespread repression, but Petro maintained diplomatic ties with Caracas.
Colombia’s government said the purpose of the Petro-Rodríguez meeting is to “contribute to a resolution of Venezuela’s political crisis.” The AP added that it remained unclear how such a resolution could be achieved through the talks, including because Petro’s term ends in August and because any future approach by Colombia may depend on who takes power next there.
Ronal Rodríguez Durán, identified by the AP as a researcher at the Venezuela Observatory at the Universidad del Rosario, said Petro’s leverage would be limited for any mediation given the end of his term. Rodríguez Durán also said future ties with Venezuela likely will be influenced by Colombia’s next political leadership.
Despite the uncertainty around mediation, the meeting underscored the practical overlap between the two governments’ priorities, particularly around border security and industrial cooperation. As the leaders met in Caracas, the AP report framed the diplomacy as an effort to address shared challenges while both countries manage the political instability in Venezuela and the continuing security contest along the border.