Venezuelan migrants wanting to return to their country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, camp outside the bus terminal in Medellin, Colombia on Tuesday, hoping to board a bus to reach the border. Photo: AFP

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro said Monday his country would fully reopen its land border with Colombia on January 1, completing a negotiating process that began in September with the two South American neighbors reestablishing diplomatic ties.

"I can announce that we will be completely opening the entire western border of Venezuela with Colombia for the passage of vehicles," president Maduro said in a statement broadcast on the state media on Monday.

"We are preparing everything to comply with what we announced, to fulfill the pledges made with [Colombian] President Gustavo Petro to open it on January 1," Maduro further added.

The border was partially closed seven years ago and completely blocked three years ago, when Maduro broke off diplomatic ties after the previous Colombian government questioned his re-election, the legitimacy of which many countries, including the United States, have also doubted.

As soon as he came to power, Petro, Colombia's first-ever left-wing president, sought to reestablish ties and pushed for a reopening of the border between the two countries.

The Simon Bolivar Bridge, which connects Colombia's Cucuta with the Venezuelan city of San Antonio del Tachira, is currently open for cargo vehicles between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm and for pedestrians between 5:00 am and 6:00 pm.

It is expected that on December 20 a test plan will be launched on the "Tienditas" bridge, a land route that has not been inaugurated since its construction in 2017.

AFP