US And Venezuela Explore Restoring Diplomatic Ties After Maduro’s Capture

Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,

The United States and Venezuela announced Friday they are pursuing the possibility of reestablishing diplomatic relations, coming a week after a U.S. military operation that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and extradited him to face drug-trafficking charges in New York.

A U.S. delegation, including diplomats and security personnel, visited Venezuela to evaluate the potential reopening of the American Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement sent to media outlets. The department did not immediately return a request for comment.

The embassy has been shuttered since 2019, when ties were severed during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term after the United States, along with multiple other countries, recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate president amid allegations of election fraud. U.S. officials have also been accusing Maduro and his regime of backing cartels trafficking illicit drugs into the United States.

Venezuela’s interim government, led by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, responded by stating it intends to send a delegation to the United States. No timeline was provided yet.

“The government of Venezuela has decided to initiate an exploratory diplomatic process with the U.S. government, with a view to reestablishing the diplomatic missions in both countries,” the Venezuelan government said in a statement.

Such a visit would likely necessitate waivers from U.S. Treasury sanctions imposed on Venezuelan officials.

The move comes amid Rodríguez’s efforts to manage domestic pressures, including demands from Venezuela’s military hard-liners furious over Maduro’s capture. In phone discussions with the presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Spain, she described the U.S. operation as “grave, criminal, illegal, and illegitimate aggression” against Venezuela.

Later, during a televised event at the opening of a women’s health clinic in Caracas, Rodríguez highlighted diplomacy as key to safeguarding the nation and facilitating “the return of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.”

“We will meet face-to-face in diplomacy … to defend the peace of Venezuela, the stability of Venezuela, the future, to defend our independence and to defend our sacred and inalienable sovereignty,” Rodríguez said, without directly addressing the embassy’s potential reactivation.

Rodríguez on Jan. 5 extended an invitation for U.S. collaboration, writing on social media: “We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence.”

She further emphasized moving toward “balanced and respectful international relations.”

Maduro appeared in federal court in New York on Jan. 5 and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges, according to U.S. officials.

Following Maduro’s removal, Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s deputy, assumed interim leadership. U.S. authorities said Washington would exercise oversight of the transitional government.

The U.S. president has urged Rodríguez and remaining Maduro allies to align with U.S. interests, particularly enforcement against drug trafficking and control over Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

Venezuela’s oil sector holds the world’s largest proven reserves but has been mismanaged and financially neglected for years. Oil output has fallen from more than 3 million barrels per day in the early 2000s to less than 1 million barrels per day in recent years, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

On Jan. 10, Trump invited executives of large oil companies to the White House on Friday to discuss investment opportunities that will restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure following the ousting of Maduro. Trump said that American oil companies will invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela to boost its oil production.

“We’re going to discuss how these great American companies can help rapidly rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry and bring millions of barrels of oil production to benefit the United States, the people of Venezuela, and the entire world,” Trump said as he welcomed the executives.

The president also announced on Jan. 6 that Venezuela will send 30 million barrels of oil, valued at approximately $4 billion, to the United States.

U.S. visits to Caracas have been infrequent since the embassy closure, with the most recent in February 2025 involving special envoy Richard Grenell, who secured the release of six detained Americans after meeting Maduro.