Maduro proposes to create a «great binational economic zone» with Colombia: «His pains are ours»

The Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, has proposed this Friday the creation of a shared economic space for Venezuela and some regions of Colombia, such as northern Santander or Catatumbo, in order to bring «peace to the towns of the border,» as economic, social and integral development to this entire area ».

«To give decent work alternatives to the men and women of that area, to also carry education, literacy, culture, sport, and so that we have a peace plan, because the pain and violence of Colombia are our pains; For there to be peace, there must be integrity and integration between the two countries, ”said the president in an appearance collected by public radio.

By Albertonews

Maduro has assured that, «despite the differences that may exist» between the two governments, the Venezuelan authorities want peace for both Venezuela and Colombia. «Every day we work so that there is peace, but for there to be peace there must be integration between the two peoples,» he added.

Specifically, the president has clarified that the aforementioned area would cover «the north of Santander, in Colombia, the Táchira state and the Catatumbo, in the Zulia state.»

The escalation of the conflict between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Colombian authorities motivated President Gustavo Petro to cancel the peace negotiations with the ELN, which had already been suffering several setbacks for other guerrilla actions and in the middle of The reproaches of the armed group, which accuse the government of not complying with some of the precarious agreements reached.

In this context, Petro has declared that the Venezuela authorities are «deactivating camps» Eln in their territory, amid the confrontations between the guerrillas and the 33rd front of the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the region Del Catatumbo, in the northeast of the country, where the wave of violence of recent weeks has charged 52 lives and has forced some 52,000 people to flee.