The United States and Venezuela have agreed to restore diplomatic ties in a major shift in the historically hostile relationship, the State Department said Thursday.
The move comes after Trump administration officials visited the South American nation following a US military operation that ousted former president Nicolas Maduro in January.
Since then, the Trump administration has been increasing pressure on Maduro loyalists, now in power, to accept the oil-rich country’s vision.
Relations between the two countries were cut after another geopolitical defeat in 2019 under the first Trump administration. The US embassy in Caracas was closed and diplomatic staff moved to neighboring Colombia.
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Talks between the countries “are focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a step-by-step process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government,” the State Department said in a statement.
Since the US’s unprecedented invasion of Venezuela, the Trump administration has pushed the government to open up its oil sector to foreign companies.
The government of Interim President Delsy Rodríguez, formerly Maduro’s vice president, approved an amnesty law allowing the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and many others, effectively admitting that the government had imprisoned hundreds of people for political motivations.
On Sunday, Venezuela’s top opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado said she would return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections would be held in Venezuela.
Such seismic changes were unthinkable in the South American nation just a few months ago. Venezuela’s main political current, known as Chavismo, has been able to dodge curve balls thrown its way over the years, from US sanctions to the financial crisis.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
(tags to translate) Venezuela
