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| - Colombian President Ivan Duque dismissed on Thursday an offer by his Venezuela counterpart Nicolas Maduro to restore diplomatic relations in order to deal with the case of a detained, fugitive ex-lawmaker. Aida Merlano, who is Colombian, was detained by Venezuelan security forces in the northwestern city of Maracaibo after illegally crossing into Venezuela, police there said on Monday. She was serving a 15-year prison sentence in Colombia for vote-buying when she staged a spectacular escape in October, giving her guards the slip while visiting a dentist. Colombia said on Tuesday it would submit an extradition request to Venezuela's opposition leader Juan Guaido, since it does not recognize Maduro's government. Maduro described the request as ridiculous since Guaido -- who declared himself acting president last January in a challenge to the socialist leader's authority -- holds no real power. But on Wednesday, Maduro offered to restore diplomatic relations that he broke off last February when Colombia tried to help Guaido force desperately needed humanitarian aid into crisis-wracked Venezuela as security forces loyal to Maduro blocked it. "We see there are very few guarantees in Venezuela for the provision of consular and other services, due to the dictatorship's constant aggression," said Duque. "It was the dictator who expelled (Colombian diplomats) and who broke off relations, so don't come here now pretending to be a dove of peace." Maduro said there are more than 30 detained Colombians in Venezuela that have been left in limbo by the lack of diplomatic relations. Guaido is powerless to act in the Merlano case as he holds no real power in Venezuela, where Maduro controls all state institutions, except the opposition-controlled National Assembly headed by Guaido. But even that has been left powerless by the Maduro-controlled Supreme Court, which has annulled its every decision since 2017. During a visit to a medical center in Bogota to see a dentist on October 1, Merlano managed to slip away from her escorts, climb out a window, and slide down a rope, landing on the sidewalk in front of surprised passersby before escaping on the back of a waiting motorcycle. A video of her daring escape shot by a nearby security camera went viral on social media. lv/vel/yow/bc/dw
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