Colombia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Edwin Palma Egea, traveled to Caracas last Friday with a clear message: Colombia wants to move forward with energy integration with Venezuela and take advantage of the new political landscape that emerged following the capture of Nicolas Maduro and the lifting of sanctions by the United States.
At the Miraflores Palace, he met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez to lay the groundwork for an agenda aimed at reactivating projects that had been stalled for years.
The meeting is a preliminary step ahead of a more significant engagement: the meeting, still without a confirmed date, between President Gustavo Petro and Rodriguez on Venezuelan soil.
What was discussed by the technical teams this week will serve as input for that political dialogue. The bet is ambitious: to rebuild bilateral trust and turn energy into a new stage of cooperation.
Colombia and Venezuela move forward with energy integration
Until a few months ago, an approach of this kind seemed unlikely. The sanctions imposed by Washington against Maduro’s regime limited Venezuelan exports, blocked financial transactions, and froze investments. The country’s oil industry fell to historic lows, and any energy agreement with Caracas was surrounded by legal and political risks.
Maduro’s capture and the subsequent easing of sanctions by the United States radically altered that landscape. With Rodriguez at the head of a transitional government and with signs of openness toward the international community, Venezuela began to regain room for maneuver in the energy sector.
Foreign companies reactivated contacts and projects, and the country reappeared on the map as a potential supplier of crude oil and gas.
For Colombia, the change is significant. Energy security has become a strategic issue, especially in the context of the transition toward cleaner energy sources and the need to guarantee gas supply in the medium term. In that scenario, proximity to one of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves carries evident weight.
At the meeting, which took place in Caracas and was described as high-level by the technical teams of both governments, the delegations underscored their commitment to working jointly for regional energy security and to promoting projects that benefit both Colombia and Venezuela.
“These types of spaces allow us to build technical, sustainable solutions with a long-term vision to ensure reliable supply and greater productive development between brotherly peoples,” Colombian Minister Edwin Palma said after concluding the meeting.
Also present at the meeting were the president of PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela), Hector Obregon; the president of Pequiven, Roman Maniglia; Colombia’s ambassador to Venezuela, Milton Rengifo; and Venezuela’s ambassador to Colombia, Carlos Eduardo Martinez Mendoza.
¡Unidad energética para Colombia y Venezuela!
Colombia y Venezuela han consolidado avances importantes en la integración energética regional, fortaleciendo una agenda estratégica que abarca la importación de gas natural, la interconexión eléctrica, el impulso de energías limpias… pic.twitter.com/ApbyIqPZLu
— Minenergía (@MinEnergiaCo) February 21, 2026
Gas, electricity, and energy transition
According to official statements, the conversation between Palma and Rodriguez focused on four fronts: natural gas imports, electrical interconnection, technical cooperation, and the development of renewable energy. There were no spectacular announcements, but there was an explicit commitment to move forward on a concrete road map.
Gas is the most sensitive issue. Colombia faces projected deficits in the coming years if new fields are not developed or external supply is not secured.
Venezuela, by contrast, holds significant reserves that could complement Colombian demand. Reactivating the binational gas pipeline and upgrading the existing infrastructure will require investment and regulatory agreements, but both sides agreed that the political moment favors that discussion.
However, the Colombian side clarified that for now, no gas will be imported from Venezuela, given that U.S. sanctions in this regard remain in place in the neighboring country.
Electrical interconnection is another key chapter. For years, energy exchanges were intermittent and affected by the Venezuelan crisis. Now there are plans to strengthen exchange mechanisms, especially in border areas where communities have suffered outages and precarious service.
At the same time, the official discourse incorporates the energy transition. Colombia has insisted that integration should not be limited to oil and gas. Cooperation in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects is part of the narrative the government wants to position as a modern alliance rather than a simple return to traditional extractivism.
Obstacles and cautions on the eve of the Petro and Rodriguez meeting
Despite the optimism, the path is not clear. Although the United States lifted many of the sanctions, oversight mechanisms and requirements still exist that could affect financial and commercial operations.
Colombian state-owned companies such as Ecopetrol will need to act with legal caution before committing to investments or long-term contracts.
There is also the internal political factor in both countries. In Colombia, any agreement with Caracas generates debate and criticism from sectors that distrust the new Venezuelan leadership. In Venezuela, the stability of the transitional government will be decisive in consolidating international confidence.
Added to this is the technical challenge. Deteriorated infrastructure, the need for capital, and long implementation timelines could slow results. Energy integration is not decreed; it is built through sustained investment and clear regulatory frameworks.
The meeting between Palma and Rodriguez was, above all, a political gesture with strategic implications. It served as a dress rehearsal for what could become a formal relaunch of the bilateral relationship when Petro and Rodriguez sit face to face.
If that meeting materializes and translates into firm agreements, Colombia and Venezuela could usher in a phase marked by pragmatic cooperation. Energy, more than a simple resource, would become a tool for regional stability and for rebuilding broken ties.
On Friday in Caracas, there were no signed agreements or final figures, but there was an unequivocal message: The new political context opened a window that both governments are willing to seize.
What happens in the coming months will determine whether this bet becomes a lasting turning point or another failed attempt at rapprochement between two neighbors condemned, by geography and history, to understand each other.