Venezuela starts ‘exploratory process’ to re-establish formal ties with US 

Venezuela’s government has said it is in “exploratory” talks to restore diplomatic ties with the United States in the wake of Washington’s abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.

The government led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez also said on Friday that US Department of State officials were visiting Caracas and that Venezuela would soon reciprocate by sending a delegation to Washington.

The government “has decided to initiate an exploratory process of a diplomatic nature with the Government of the United States of America, aimed at the re-establishment of diplomatic missions in both countries”, it said in a statement.

US-Venezuela relations tanked in the wake of the rise of left-wing President Hugo Chavez in 1999. Over the following 10 years, both countries withdrew their respective ambassadors.

In 2019, diplomatic relations fully ceased after the administration of US President Donald Trump recognised opposition figure Juan Guaido as the country’s interim president.

Since then, the US has handled Venezuela affairs from an office in Colombia’s capital, Bogota.

Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president just two days after the US military seized Maduro. The operation has been roundly condemned as a blatant violation of international law.

The former vice president had continued to decry the US actions as a flagrant violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty, even as she has softened her tone on cooperation in the US.

“Our people and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” she said.

The Trump administration has pledged to use military pressure and sanctions to indefinitely assert its will on Venezuela’s government and the country’s management of its vast oil reserves.

Trump had initially threatened that Rodriguez would pay a “bigger price” than Maduro if she did not comply with US interests. Maduro remained in a US federal facility on Friday after being indicted earlier this week on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy and drug trafficking charges.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he had cancelled “the previously expected second Wave of Attacks” on Venezuela, citing increased cooperation with Caracas.

That included Venezuela’s move on Thursday to release a small fraction of its political prisoners, in what Trump called a sign of “seeking peace”.

“The USA and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump said, adding that US military assets would remain surged to the region.

Trump and his top officials have offered competing justifications for Maduro’s abduction and the ongoing pressure campaign against Caracas. The administration has called the attack a one-off “law enforcement operation” while also saying the use of military force to achieve its goals remain on the table.

Earlier Friday, US forces seized a fifth oil tanker in the Caribbean since Trump announced a blockade on vessels under sanction by Washington in December.

UN experts have said the blockade and Washington’s efforts to assert control over Venezuela’s oil industry are also violations of international law.

Trump is set to meet oil and gas executives at the White House later on Friday.