The United States and Venezuela said on Friday that they are considering steps toward restoring diplomatic relations, following a visit by a delegation from the Trump administration to the South American country.
The visit represents a significant shift in relations between the two longtime rivals. It follows last weekend’s dramatic U.S. military operation in which former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was seized from his residence in Caracas and flown to New York to face federal drug-trafficking charges.
According to the State Department, a small group of U.S. diplomats, accompanied by security personnel, traveled to Venezuela to conduct an initial evaluation of whether the U.S. Embassy in Caracas could reopen.
Venezuela’s government said it plans to send its own delegation to the United States, though no timeline was announced. Any such visit would likely require the U.S. Treasury Department to temporarily lift sanctions.
The administration of acting President Delcy Rodríguez said it had decided to launch an exploratory diplomatic process with Washington aimed at restoring embassies in both countries.
Rodríguez faces a delicate political situation, balancing pressure from the Trump administration while also trying to maintain the support of Venezuelan military hardliners angered by Maduro’s capture.
Her remarks on Friday reflected that tension. She said she had spoken by phone with the leftist leaders of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain, during which she condemned what she described as Washington’s “serious, criminal, illegal, and illegitimate aggression” against Venezuela.
Later, during a televised appearance at the opening of a women’s health clinic in central Caracas, Rodríguez stressed that engagement with the Trump administration was the best way to protect Venezuela’s stability and even work toward “the return of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.”
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“We will engage directly through diplomacy to defend Venezuela’s peace, stability, future, independence, and our sacred and non-negotiable sovereignty,” Rodríguez said, without specifically addressing the possible reopening of the U.S. Embassy.
President Donald Trump has sought to pressure Rodríguez and other remaining allies of Maduro to support his vision of greater U.S. influence over Venezuela’s oil exports. Venezuela holds the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world.
The United States and Venezuela cut diplomatic ties in 2019 during Trump’s first term, after Washington recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president — a move that infuriated Maduro.
That same year, the Trump administration closed the U.S. Embassy in Caracas and relocated its diplomats to Bogotá, Colombia. Since then, visits by U.S. officials to Venezuela have been rare.
The most recent visit before this week occurred in February, when Trump’s special envoy, Richard Grenell, met with Maduro, leading to the release of six detained Americans.