BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia could use its restored diplomatic relations with Venezuela to help curb human rights violations in its neighbor, advocacy group Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Monday.
Colombia and Venezuela reopened a major crossing point to cargo transport between the two countries in late September in a major thawing after years of icy bilateral relations and heavily restricted economic ties.
While rebuilding relations with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Colombia’s leftist administration should also remain focused on helping to address the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, the rights organization said.
“Colombia should prioritize obtaining concrete human rights commitments from Venezuelan authorities,” the group said, adding that other key areas would include supporting access of humanitarian assistance, reestablishing the rule of law, and addressing violence, abuse, and human trafficking at the border, among other topics.
Colombia’s government did not immediately respond to the letter from Human Rights Watch, which also noted the country’s “mostly exemplary” response to Venezuela’s crisis, which has caused some 7.1 million people to flee the country.
Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the letter.
In September, the U.N. International Independent Fact-Finding Mission for Venezuela found that state intelligence agencies under Maduro’s helm had suppressed the opposition through arbitrary detentions and torture that amounted to crimes against humanity.
Previous governments in Bogota have accused Maduro of harboring Colombian criminals and rebel groups, such as the National Liberation Army, accusations he has denied.
Caracas broke off relations with Bogota in 2019 after Venezuelan opposition activists tried to send aid trucks from Colombia. Maduro’s government said it was a front for an attempted coup.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta and Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Additional reporting by Vivian Sequera in Caracas; Editing by Sandra Maler)
