Colombia and Venezuela Reopen Borders for Cargo as Diplomatic Relations are Restored

On September 2, the presidents of both Colombia and Venezuela announced that the closure of their countries’ borders for cargo traffic will end on September 26, and flights between their capitals will also resume, reports the Associated Press. On August 29, the presidents of Colombia and Venezuela officially re-established diplomatic ties, three years after ties had been severed.

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FOCUS on Pariah Leaders: Nicolás Maduro

Nicolás Maduro, the simultaneously reviled and celebrated socialist President of Venezuela, is facing another contested vote in November’s upcoming regional elections, according to CNN. The rise and fall of Maduro’s political legitimacy parallel that of other populist leaders in Latin America, but recent events indicate that Maduro may finally achieve the legitimacy he desires. 

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Focus on Mass Migration: Venezuela

A refugee is defined as “someone with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion”. A migrant, meanwhile, is defined as “someone who voluntarily leaves his or her country of origin to seek a better life and who does not face impediments to returning home”. Yet for the five million people who have fled from Venezuela since 2015 neither of those definitions accurately describes their circumstances. 

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Dr. Gabriel Hetland Speaks with Diplomacy Students about Venezuela Crisis

On Wednesday, March 6, Diplomacy students had an online talk with Dr. Gabriel Hetland on the ongoing geopolitical crisis in Venezuela. Dr. Gabriel Hetland, professor of Latin America, Caribbean, and Latino Studies at the State University of New York at Albany, discussed several aspects of the current instability in Venezuela.

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