The United States and Venezuela have formally agreed to restore diplomatic ties, broken since early 2019. This measure represents a new and decisive step within the framework of cooperation established between Washington and Caracas after the Donald Trump government captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. "The United States and the interim authorities of Venezuela have agreed to restore diplomatic and consular relations. This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela," a State Department communiqué states. "Our collaboration focuses on helping the Venezuelan people advance through a gradual process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government," the text continues. Following the operation to capture Maduro, the Trump government established a three-phase process—stabilization, recovery, and democratic transition—for Venezuela's future, and the Republican has appointed former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to lead the first of these stages. The New York magnate has repeatedly praised the work of the Chavist politician at the head of the interim government and her close cooperation with Washington. Regarding rebuilding diplomatic exchanges, Washington and Caracas have discussed exploring a gradual resumption of relations to reopen their respective embassies. At the end of January, U.S. Chargé d'affaires Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas with the mission of reopening the mission on Venezuelan soil, while the Delcy Rodríguez government appointed Félix Plasencia as Venezuela's diplomatic representative to the United States shortly after. Diplomatic ties between the United States and Venezuela had remained broken since early 2019, during Donald Trump's first term, when Washington recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president, to which Nicolás Maduro responded by breaking relations.
