The governments of Colombia and Venezuela issued a joint statement on Thursday to announce the cancellation of the meeting scheduled for the following day between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Delcy Rodríguez. Photo: Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Guacamaya, March 12, 2026. The long-awaited meeting between the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and her Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, scheduled for this Friday, March 13th, on the Colombia-Venezuela border, was suspended at the last minute due to security alerts. The information was released by a source from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to AFP and was later picked up by various media outlets.
The meeting, announced as a diplomatic milestone to address energy cooperation, border security, and trade, falls through in a context of simultaneous rapprochement with the United States and progress on binational infrastructure.
The meeting in Cúcuta, the main border city between the two countries, represented Rodríguez’s first international trip as acting president.
President Petro had been promoting this meeting since January 8th, proposing a tripartite dialogue with Washington to stabilize Venezuela, amidst challenges such as the presence of the ELN and FARC dissidents on the more than 2,200 km border shared by both countries. The key agenda included the mixed company Monómeros Colombo Venezolanos, the Alex Saab case, irregular migration, and the full restoration of trade.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s version, the suspension was driven by the Venezuelan side and responds to unspecified “security alerts,” raising questions about stability in the area.
Petro-Trump Phone Conversation
This Thursday, March 12th, Colombian President Gustavo Petro held a telephone conversation lasting approximately 30 minutes with his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
The call, confirmed by the Colombian Presidency through the head of communications, Andrés Hernández, addressed key issues such as energy, hydrocarbons, border security, drug trafficking, and illicit crops, with mutual invitations for official visits.
At the end of the contact, Trump wished Petro success in the scheduled meeting with the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, at the Antonio Nariño border bridge, hours before its cancellation became known.
The communication between the leaders of Colombia and the United States would be the second between the two leaders, following one in January that lowered tensions after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, and after Petro’s visit to the White House last February. Both countries seek to align positions on Venezuela in a context of a new political era for the oil-rich country.
Progress on the Antonio Ricaurte Gas Pipeline
Amidst these diplomatic announcements and prior to the cancellation of the presidential meeting, Colombia and Venezuela activated a roadmap to repair 5 km of pipeline on the binational Antonio Ricaurte gas pipeline, key for importing Venezuelan gas. PDVSA will carry out the works under strict environmental regulations and the original route, reactivating a license interrupted since 2019 without pending sanctions.
The working group included the Colombian ministers of Mines, Edwin Palma, and Environment and Sustainable Development, Irene Vélez, agreeing that this will facilitate energy trade. This pragmatic step contrasts with the cancellation of the meeting, suggesting that technical cooperation persists.
Although progress on the gas pipeline indicates technical will, the security alerts could reflect the persistence of threats such as the ELN. Faced with this situation, Colombian-Venezuelan diplomacy, revitalized after Maduro’s departure, now faces a new test of resilience.
