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The United States and Venezuela have agreed to restore diplomatic relations, marking a significant change in a long-standing adversarial relationship, the State Department announced on Thursday.
The decision follows multiple visits by officials from the Trump administration to Venezuela after a U.S. military operation in January that removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power. Since then, officials from Washington have increased pressure on those now governing to adopt the administration’s approach for the oil-rich nation.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were cut off in 2019 during the first Trump administration when Maduro ended relations after the U.S. expressed support for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who at that time claimed to be interim president. That move led U.S. diplomatic staff to relocate to neighboring Colombia.
In a statement, the State Department said talks have been “focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.”
The announcement came after a two-day visit by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, which largely centered on the country’s mining sector. A February visit by Energy Secretary Chris Wright focused on Venezuela’s oil potential. Both officials emphasized attracting foreign investment as part of the administration’s staged plan to support recovery in the crisis-hit nation.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, previously Maduro’s vice president, said on state television that the steps “will strengthen relations between our two countries.”
Her government later issued a statement expressing confidence that restoring diplomatic ties “will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship.”
“These relations ought to result in the social and economic happiness of the Venezuelan people,” Rodríguez said.
In the weeks since the unprecedented U.S. offensive in Venezuela, the Trump administration has encouraged broad changes, including opening the country’s oil sector to foreign firms. Rodríguez’s government also approved an amnesty law leading to the release of politicians, activists, lawyers, and others, a move that acknowledged the release of many held on politically motivated charges.
Trump’s decision to work with Rodríguez rather than the political opposition caught many by surprise. On Sunday, top opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that national elections are expected.
Such sweeping changes in U.S.–Venezuela relations would have been unthinkable only months ago, given Venezuela’s deeply rooted political divisions and history of resisting international pressures ranging from sanctions to economic crisis.
