U.S. State Department: American-Venezuelan diplomatic, consular relations have been reestablished

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, shakes hands with US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum after their meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on March 4, 2026.

The U.S. Department of State announced on Thursday that diplomatic and consular relations have been reestablished between the U.S. and Venezuela’s interim authorities.  

“The United States and Venezuela’s interim authorities have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations,” the State Department emphasized in a statement.

The announcement comes after U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum arrived Wednesday in Venezuela, meeting with acting President Delcy Rodríguez to discuss oil and mineral opportunities, according to Axios.

“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 department stated.

 

Rodríguez, formerly ex-dictator Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, vowed to cooperate with the Trump administration even prior to Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces in January, according to The Guardian.

Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are seen in handcuffs after landing at a Manhattan helipad as they are escorted to an armored car en route to a federal courthouse in Manhattan on Monday. (Photo via: DEA)

 

Since 2019, diplomatic ties between the two nations have been severed and embassies shuttered. However, now that Maduro is out of the picture, a new chapter is beginning.

Meanwhile, Venezuela’s executive branch, via Acting President Rodríguez’s official site, pledged renewed diplomatic and energy cooperation with the United States — emphasizing that this breakthrough paves the way for a stronger bilateral relationship, one expected to significantly bolster energy security throughout the region.

“Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well. The Oil is beginning to flow, and the professionalism and dedication between both Countries is a very nice thing to see!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday.

 

In a February statement, the State Department also said that the Trump administration is implementing “President Trump’s vision to reopen and develop Venezuela’s oil industry for the shared benefit of the American and Venezuelan people.”

“We built Venezuela oil industry with American talent, drive and skill, and the socialist regime stole it from us during those previous administrations, and they stole it through force,” Trump said in a press conference following Maduro’s capture.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the recipient of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, said “she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in Venezuela,” according to AP News.