Colombian peace commissioner Otty Patiño on Monday proposed to the administration of Nicolás Maduro the creation of a “border regime” focused on guaranteeing peace and security in “binational towns,” a process in which – he said – communities and “armed actors” with a presence in these areas can participate.
“We ask that there be the possibility, together with communities and even with armed actors who move within these borders, that we can look at a new border regime with Venezuela. I think that this is a very important and urgent issue and it is key to peace in Colombia,” he said at the beginning of the first round of negotiations between the Colombian government and the Second Marquetalia – a dissident group of the FARC – in Caracas.
In his opinion, “neither country can make peace in isolation,” because “Colombia’s peace influences Venezuela’s and vice versa.”
“We have to inaugurate a new phase of brotherhood between the two peoples and between (…) the two governments, of Venezuela and Colombia, and, in that sense, we believe that what has been a very important issue (…) is the creation of border zones of peace. Hopefully we can deepen this,” he said.
In this regard, he explained that work must be done to ensure that there is a “deep institutionality at the borders” and not leave the “binational towns” in the hands of “those who, taking advantage of informality (…), can order or disorder life there.”
On Monday, on the occasion of the start of negotiations between the Colombian government and the Second Marquetalia, the Venezuelan Executive, one of the countries guaranteeing this process, expressed its “unrestricted support for all initiatives and actions that lead to peace” in the Andean country, and reiterated its commitment to “continue working vigorously” to “make Latin America and the Caribbean a territory of peace, unity and prosperity.”
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2024-09-19 22:09:10
