CARACAS, Venezuela — The United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations, a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship, the State Department said Thursday.
The move follows several visits by Trump administration officials after a U.S. military operation deposed former President Nicolás Maduro in January. Since then, the administration has increased pressure on Maduro loyalists now in power to accept its vision for the oil-rich nation.
Relations had been cut off in 2019 during the first Trump administration after Maduro’s decision to close ties following U.S. President Donald Trump’s public support for opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who declared himself interim president that January. U.S. diplomatic staff relocated to neighboring Colombia.
The State Department said talks were “focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.”
The announcement followed a two-day visit by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, which largely focused on Venezuela’s mining sector, and came after Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s February visit centered on the country’s oil potential. Both secretaries aim to attract foreign investment to support the administration’s phased plan to stabilize the crisis-wracked nation.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, formerly Maduro’s vice president, said on state television that the steps “will strengthen relations between our two countries.” Her government said reestablishing diplomatic ties “will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship,” adding, “These relations ought to result in the social and economic happiness of the Venezuelan people.”
Since the U.S. operation, the administration has pushed Venezuela to make sweeping changes, including opening its oil sector to foreign companies. Rodríguez’s government also approved an amnesty law that has enabled the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and others, effectively acknowledging that hundreds had been held for political reasons.
Trump’s decision to work with Rodríguez rather than the opposition after Maduro’s ouster surprised many Venezuelans. On Sunday, opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado said she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held.
Such shifts would have been unthinkable months earlier in a nation whose Chavismo movement has long weathered U.S. sanctions and deep economic crisis.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
