International

Venezuela, Colombia finalize border reopening

Photo: Edinson Estupinan / AFP

| By AFP |

Venezuela and Colombia reopened the last stretch of their shared border Sunday after settling a diplomatic dispute that had kept it closed for years.

Cars honked and passengers waved flags as vehicles with license plates from the two South American countries traversed the Atanasio Girardot bridge — previously blocked by shipping containers amid high tensions.

Also known as Tienditas, the bridge was the final step necessary for a full reopening of the border since the countries restored diplomatic ties last year.

A ceremony, which included a blessing by bishops, was held Sunday to reinaugurate the border crossing, with officials from both sides in attendance wearing white guayaberas and carrying balloons with their countries’ shared national colors — yellow, blue and red.

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The neighbors share a 2,200-kilometer (1,350-mile) border through a region riddled with armed groups contending for lucrative drug trafficking and smuggling routes.

Transport over the border was partially closed seven years ago and then completely blocked in 2019 when Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro broke off diplomatic ties after Colombia under then-president Ivan Duque questioned his 2018 re-election.

Many other countries, including the United States, did not recognize Maduro’s victory in an election widely condemned as rigged.

After assuming power last year as Colombia’s first-ever left-wing president, Gustavo Petro immediately sought to re-establish ties with Venezuela and pushed to reopen the border.

On September 26, goods trucks were allowed through border crossings that had been open only to pedestrians.

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Air links have also since resumed.

Restoring ‘brotherhood’

“We have taken important steps,” Maduro said in an interview broadcast Sunday on Venezuelan state TV.

Silvano Serrano, governor of Colombia’s Norte de Santander department where the bridge is located, said that “as a single territory, today we join the historical, cultural and social brotherhood that has always identified us.”

The countries hope to reinvigorate trade, which stood at $7.2 billion in 2008, but has since collapsed.

The Atanasio Girardot bridge connects the Venezuelan city of Urena with Cucuta in Colombia, and had been blocked by shipping containers placed there by the Venezuelan army.

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Millions have left Venezuela in recent years, as the country suffers from a deep economic crisis that has seen poverty soar, with many settling in Colombia.

Venezuela is also one of the guarantors of ongoing negotiations between the the ELN guerrilla group and the Colombian government, which hopes to reach a peace agreement similar to the historic accord signed in 2016 with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

On Saturday, Petro announced that a ceasefire agreement had been struck with the ELN and other armed groups that would last from January 1 to June 30.

International

White House says Cuba policy unchanged despite sanctioned fuel shipment

The White House said Monday that it has not changed its policy toward Cuba, despite allowing a sanctioned Russian oil tanker to deliver fuel to the island on humanitarian grounds.

U.S. officials emphasized that the decision was made as an exception and does not signal a broader shift in policy.

The administration added that similar decisions would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on humanitarian considerations.

The clarification comes amid ongoing restrictions related to U.S. sanctions policy, which continue to limit trade and financial flows involving Cuba.

International

Spain to grant citizenship to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López

The Spanish government is expected to grant citizenship this Tuesday to Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lópezthrough an extraordinary procedure known as “carta de naturaleza.”

The decision will be approved by royal decree, an exceptional legal mechanism used in special cases that require expedited resolution due to specific circumstances.

López has been living in Madrid since 2020, after leaving Venezuela following a prolonged political and legal conflict with the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to government sources, López currently does not have a valid Venezuelan passport and faces difficulties in having his nationality fully recognized in his home country.

As a result, he applied for Spanish citizenship via a fast-track process at the end of 2025, after previously attempting to obtain it through regular procedures.

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The Spanish government justified the move based on López’s international relevance and foreign policy considerations.

López is the leader of the Voluntad Popular party and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, an initiative launched in 2022 alongside figures such as Garry Kasparov and Masih Alinejad.

International

ICE to remain at airports amid DHS shutdown, Homan says

The U.S. “border czar,” Tom Homan, said Sunday that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain deployed at airports until operations return to “100% normal,” as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues.

“We will maintain ICE presence until airports feel they are fully back to normal operations,” Homan said during an interview on Face the Nation on CBS.

Homan justified the deployment on security grounds, noting that the measure was ordered by President Donald Trumpamid widespread absenteeism among agents of the Transportation Security Administration, who have gone without pay for over six weeks due to the DHS shutdown.

According to acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill, at least 460 TSA agents have resigned during the shutdown, while daily absenteeism has averaged 11%, exceeding 50% at some airports.

Homan warned that if TSA staffing levels do not recover after the shutdown, ICE agents will continue filling the gap. “ICE is there to support our TSA brothers and sisters. We will remain as long as needed to ensure airport security,” he said.

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The DHS shutdown reached 44 days on Sunday, making it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The impasse stems from disagreements between Democrats and Republicans over ICE funding.

A recent bipartisan Senate proposal to fund DHS without including ICE failed after being blocked by House Republicans, who insist on full funding for the agency.

Amid the deadlock, Trump signed an executive order directing Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to immediately pay TSA agents to address what he called an “emergency situation” and restore order at airports, with payments expected to begin Monday.