Colombia, Venezuela open key binational bridge as ties warm

By ASTRID SUÁREZ
Associated Press

BUCARAMANGA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia and Venezuela are opening a key bridge linking the countries that had been closed for almost seven years amid political tensions, launching a new era of improved relations under Colombia’s new leftist president. Construction of the “Tienditas” bridge ended in 2016, but it was never inaugurated because of the politic crisis between the countries. In 2019, Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolás Maduro ordered more than a dozen cargo containers placed on the bridge to symbolically block it to protest attempts by the opposition to bring humanitarian aid in from Colombia. “In political terms, ‘Tienditas’ is the symbol of the recovery of dialogue between the two countries,” said researcher Ronal Rodríguez.