US and Venezuela Restore Diplomatic Ties After Years of Rupture

"This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela," the statement by the US State Department read.

In January this year, the US military forces launched a large-scale surprise raid on Caracas and captured Venezuela's former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and the duo was taken to the US and faced allegations of weapon and drug offences in Manhattan court.

On January 31, a US diplomatic mission arrived in Caracas, marking the resumption of diplomatic contacts between the two countries.

Venezuela under Maduro had cut off diplomatic ties with the United States in January 2019 due to the latter's continued interference in Venezuela's internal affairs. This came in the wake of Trump's recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's interim president.

All diplomatic personnel from the US embassy in Venezuela withdrew in the same year.

The March 5 statement by the US State Department read, "Our engagement is 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 United States remains committed to supporting the Venezuelan people and working with partners across the region to advance stability and prosperity," it said.

Meanwhile, Trump administration officials visited Venezuela this week, where US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez to discuss oil and mineral opportunities. Burgum leads Trump's National Energy Dominance Council.

"Just wrapped a trip to Venezuela to advance U.S. interests in the region and strengthen bilateral cooperation on critical minerals and energy," Burgum posted on X.

Burgum further said that at the direction of President Donald Trump, the US is "moving at TRUMP SPEED to usher in a Golden Age for the Western Hemisphere where America leads."

In a statement posted on Rodriguez's official webpage, the head of Venezuela's interim adminstration expressed the Venezualan Government's full willingness to build a joint work agenda based on respect and mutual benefit.

Rodriguez emphasised that this rapprochement opens new avenues to strengthen the relationship between both nations, positively impacting the region's energy security.

On Wednesday, the meeting with Burgum culminated with the announcement that Rodriguez would submit a proposal to reform Venezuela's mining laws to the country's legislature in the coming days that would allow foreign companies to extract gold, diamonds and rare earths, Al Jazeera reported.

In late January this year, Rodriguez signed into law a reform to expand private investment in Venezuela's state-controlled oil industry.

Her government has also transferred at least 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the Trump administration to sell, with Trump himself controlling how the proceeds are distributed.

As per a report in Axios, which cited sources, Venezuela's state-owned mining company on Monday inked a multimillion-dollar deal to sell as many as 1,000 kilograms of gold destined for US markets.

The gold deal requires state-owned company Minerven to furnish 650 to 1,000 kilograms of Gold Dore bars to the Singapore-based commodities trader Trafigura, according to one of the sources, the publication reported.

The NYT said that the Trump administration says it has raised more than USD 1 billion in oil sales as Venezuela has ramped up its production in the past two months, with several hundred million dollars ending up back in Venezuelan coffers. The United States has also pressured Venezuela to end oil shipments to Cuba.

- ANI