Caracas, April 25 (Prensa Latina) The visit of Colombian President Gustavo Petro and the national pilgrimage of civil society in all states of the country marked the week that ends today in Venezuela, where deported migrants continued to arrive.

The Colombian leader made his seventh trip to Caracas since taking office in August 2022 to talk with his counterpart, Delcy Rodríguez, and seal an agreement after the conclusion of the III Meeting of the Neighborhood and Integration Commission.

During this two-day meeting, 11 working groups were set up to discuss topics such as cooperation in the cultural and educational fields; security and defense; trade, industry and tourism; environmental and health issues; energy and hydrocarbons; among others.

Petro and Rodríguez witnessed the signing of the important document by Foreign Ministers Yván Gil and Rosa Villavicencio, respectively, outside the Miraflores Palace, the seat of government.

Ministers from different portfolios, authorities from security agencies and other representatives from both countries "cooked up" the text, which has not yet been made public.

However, the leaders acknowledged before the national and foreign press the main topics discussed, as well as the progress in strategic areas, the challenges still to be overcome, and the aspirations to achieve Simón Bolívar's Gran Colombia project, as Petro stated.

According to Rodríguez, this meeting was framed within a moment of profound need for unity and integration of both peoples, for which they worked intensely on how to "establish and nurture that path of unity".

The Bolivarian head of state considered the opening of the border, which had been closed by previous governments and which she described as "irrational" and unnatural decisions, as crucial moments of the last four years.

He also praised the recovery of bilateral trade, which was affected by that measure and fell to "very low" levels, but has been recovering despite the economic blockade against Venezuela, reaching $1.2 billion last year and potentially reaching $2 billion by the end of this year.

Other important aspects focused on the president's proposal to replace mutual imports of products obtained in both countries, the electrical, gas and air interconnection, and to boost tourism.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the meeting was the "serious and comprehensive approach" to combating criminal gangs and international crime along the 2,219 kilometers of shared border.

In that regard, Caracas and Bogotá agreed on military intervention plans on each side of the dividing line and the establishment of "immediate mechanisms" to share intelligence information.

“Let the drug trafficking groups, who are involved in fuel and other types of smuggling, know that we are taking firm steps to combat these crimes,” Rodríguez stressed.

For the ruler of New Granada, this is the path to restoring the unity of the peoples and "economic, social and political integration as well"; and he recalled Bolívar's Gran Colombia project that grew and can be reestablished in other forms in the 21st century.

He advocated for a joint, thoroughly coordinated effort to "free the border towns from the mafias," and in this way be able to re-establish concrete paths of integration between the two nations, which he hoped would deepen "food integration."

Petro expressed that it is difficult "to call ourselves neighbors because we share the same history, the cultures of the same people, and we should be brothers."

Also significant during the week was the start of the great pilgrimage "United for a Venezuela without sanctions and in peace", which departed from three points in the country on April 19 to advance through the 24 states and end on the 30th in Caracas.

This pilgrimage involves workers, farmers, members of parliament from different political parties, both government and opposition, religious groups, and the general public who raise their voices to demand an end to the sanctions and to call for peace.

The pilgrimage is for walking, singing and praying together for Venezuela, declared the dignitary in charge from Falcón, and insisted in her call that "everyone is invited to join" this initiative.

It is planned that the day after Rodríguez's proposal concludes, there will be a rally in the capital to celebrate May 1st, International Workers' Day.

Also important in the last seven days was the signing of the decree that established the Commission for the Great National Consultation on the Reform of Criminal Justice, which, in the opinion of the acting president, has been "a debt to the Venezuelan people."

The governor stressed that there are still problems that persist and have not been overcome, which is why the process "is not only to consult with academics and specialists, but to do it with the people."

Similarly, the day before, the preliminary commission of the National Assembly (parliament) began the process to formalize the nominations to join the Judicial Nominations Committee, which will have the mission of evaluating the candidates to fill the vacant positions of magistrates in the Supreme Court of Justice.

Venezuela's reintegration into Mercosur is an issue that will have to be discussed, according to what Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin said at a press conference in Brasilia.

The country has been suspended from the group since 2017 after violating the democratic clause of the participation agreement of the space whose permanent members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

“Venezuela is suspended from Mercosur, but given that it is going through a different moment, this issue will be discussed again,” Alckmin, who will be Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s vice-presidential candidate in the October general elections, told the press.

These statements by Alckmin come after the drastic changes that took place in Venezuela starting on January 3, when a US intervention kidnapped and deported Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to New York.

Two days later, with Washington's approval, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the role of acting president, and from that moment on Caracas adopted a more conciliatory stance, seeking to resume and normalize relations with Western institutions and strategic partners, such as the United States.

The eventual reintegration of Venezuela into Mercosur would require the consensus of the member states and an assessment of whether it meets minimum democratic standards.

Alckmin, who also served as Minister of Industry and Trade during Lula's current term, emphasized that expansion is part of Mercosur's strategic agenda. In addition to Venezuela's potential return to the organization, Bolivia is adopting the bloc's legal and trade regulations after being accepted as a full member in 2024, while Colombia is also seeking full membership.

If it materializes, Venezuela's return to Mercosur will coincide with the bloc's completion of the final steps of the economic agreement with the European Union, which, if concluded, will formalize the world's largest free trade region.

The agreement, which was negotiated by the parties for more than 20 years, will begin to be implemented provisionally from May 1st.

Brazil estimates that, once the agreement is in effect, it could increase its exports to the European bloc by around 13%, according to Bloomberg.

Alckmin positively assessed the agreement reached with the Europeans, describing it as a win-win situation, according to the Info Money website .

“It’s a win-win situation. Society benefits when markets open up, tariffs are reduced, and competitiveness is boosted. It’s the largest trade agreement between blocs in the world. We’re talking about a $22 trillion market, and President Lula’s trip to Europe has precisely that objective. It’s also to showcase our biofuels at the Hannover Fair,” the vice president declared at the start of this week, as the president began his tour of Germany.

The move, announced Friday and first reported by The Associated Press, makes good on Trump’s threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It’s also part of his Republican administration’s overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran’s key source of revenue — its oil exports.

Concurrently, the U.S. this month imposed a physical blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway that is crucial to global energy supplies.

The sanctions, which cut off the companies from the U.S. financial system and penalize anyone who does business with them, come just a few weeks before President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping are due to meet in China.

Included in Friday’s sanctions is Hengli Petrochemical’s facility in the port city of Dalian, which has a processing capacity of roughly 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it one of the biggest independent refineries in China.

The Treasury Department says Hengli has received Iranian crude oil shipments since 2023 and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military.

The advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran said in February 2025 that Hengli is one of dozens of Chinese purchasers of Iranian oil.

China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, importing 80% to 90% of Iranian oil before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran broke out, though the crude — transported by a shadow fleet of vessels — often has its origin obscured but arrives in China as oil from countries such as Malaysia. Smaller refineries, known as teapot refineries, typically are the buyers of Iranian oil.

Iran has previously said that its demands for ending the war include the lifting of sanctions.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that his agency “will continue to constrict the network of vessels, intermediaries and buyers Iran relies on to move its oil to global markets.”

Earlier this month, Bessent’s department sent a letter to financial institutions in China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Oman threatening to levy secondary sanctions for doing business with Iran and accusing those countries of allowing Iranian illicit activities to flow through their financial institutions.

Bessent said during a White House press briefing on April 15 that the administration has told countries “that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions, which is a very stern measure.”

The sanctions come as the global energy trade is in turmoil as war around the Persian Gulf chokes off oil and natural gas shipments, causing prices to soar.

Treasury has tried to quell the impact of rising oil prices issuing temporary sanctions waivers on Russia oil and a one-time waiver on Iranian oil already at sea.

The AP was making efforts to contact Chinese officials for comment on the sanctions.

China has disagreed with previous U.S. sanctions, but its major companies and banks still comply with U.S. sanctions because they are more exposed to the U.S.-dominated financial system.

After the U.S. earlier this month sanctioned a Chinese refinery accused of buying Iranian oil, Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, said the use of the sanctions “undermines international trade order and rules, disrupts normal economic and trade exchanges, and infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and individuals.”

On Friday, Trump's Truth Social account posted a transcript of a podcast episode from US conservative political commentator and radio host Michael Savage.

In addition to speaking negatively about China and India, Savage described immigrants to the US who commit welfare fraud as “gangsters with laptops.” He also argued that Indians working for US technology companies refuse to hire whites.

Savage argued against birthright citizenship in the US and accused immigrants from countries such as India and China of exploiting this right. “A baby here becomes an instant citizen. And then they bring the entire family in from China or India or some other hellhole,” Savage said.

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