Although more than 200 years have passed since Simón Bolívar’s unfinished libertarian aspirations, what happened on Monday opens new hopes that someday his dreams will come true, despite the vicissitudes and setbacks that have become obstacles.

The handshake between President Nicolás Maduro and the new Colombian Ambassador here Armando Benedetti transcends the merely symbolic to become, in fact, an event of historic magnitude due to the circumstances the two sister nations have experienced in decades.

On Monday, President Maduro welcomed the Colombian diplomat at the Simón Bolívar Hall of the Government Palace, in Miraflores, dressed in white, as a symbol of peace, with whom he conversed with evident signs of happiness on both sides.

During the talk, Maduro and Benedetti exchanged about the urgency of restoring the bonds of friendship in an organized manner, so that the restoration process may be a success.

The statements made by Colombian President Gustavo Petro a few days ago illustrate the magnitude of the event when he said that the breaking-off of relations three years ago was “a huge mistake” and called for restoring ties based on love, and cultural, economic, and social relations.

At the end of the day, the Bolivarian president wrote on Twitter that the “fraternal and pleasant” meeting with Benedetti on Monday “is the beginning of a stage of diplomatic relations of brotherhood, peace, and respect. A hug to the Colombian people, brothers, and sisters in Bolivar.”

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