Venezuela and the United States resumed dialogue on Wednesday in an attempt to improve their relations despite Washington’s continued sanctions against the Venezuelan oil sector.
“After this first meeting we agreed: 1. on the willingness of both governments to work together to gain trust and improve relations. 2. to maintain communication in a respectful and constructive manner,” Jorge Rodriguez, Venezuela’s chief negotiator and president of the National Assembly, said on X after a “virtual meeting.”
President Nicolas Maduro, who is seeking a third term in the July 28 presidential election, announced on Monday, to everyone’s surprise, the resumption of dialogue with the United States.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre welcomed Wednesday “this dialogue and we are aware that democratic change will not be easy and that it will require serious commitment.”
“We therefore remain committed to supporting the will of the Venezuelan people and paving the way for democratic governance through open and inclusive elections. I don’t have specific details to share on diplomatic engagement, but we certainly welcome it in good faith,” she added.
Assistant Secretary of State for Latin America Brian Nichols said earlier Monday that the United States was “always open to dialogue.”
Caracas and Washington began secret negotiations last year in Qatar.
During those talks, they agreed on a prisoner swap. Washington released Alex Saab, accused of being Mr. Maduro’s front man, in exchange for the release of 28 prisoners, 10 Americans and 18 Venezuelans imprisoned in Venezuela.
Oil and Migration
In return, the United States eased the oil embargo imposed on the country since 2019 in an attempt to oust President Maduro from power, whose re-election in 2018 it did not recognize.
But Washington then reimposed sanctions in April, particularly after the confirmation of the ineligibility of Maria Corina Machado, the clear winner of the opposition primary for the presidential election.
Venezuela had condemned this measure and denounced “the pretension of the United States to monitor, place under guardianship, control and manipulate the Venezuelan oil industry through its illegal policy of imposing coercive measures and licenses.”
Washington also criticised the arrests of opponents, 46 in the last six months according to the NGO Access to Justice, as well as the withdrawal of the invitation to the EU to observe the presidential elections.
Mr Maduro said on Monday that he wanted “dialogue, understanding, a future for our relations, changes under absolute sovereignty and independence”.
According to diplomatic sources, Caracas and its allies, like Washington and the European Union, have an interest in a normalization of relations between the two countries.
Venezuela is seeking to lift sanctions so it can revive its economy, which has been devastated by an economic crisis that has seen its GDP shrink by 80% in ten years.
For their part, in a context of tension over the price of a barrel with the war in Ukraine and events in the Middle East, Westerners would view Venezuela’s return to the oil market in the medium term with a positive eye.
The country that once produced more than 3 million barrels a day is struggling to produce just under a million today.
In addition, some 7 million of Venezuela’s 30 million people have fled their country, generating problems or debates about immigration among its neighbors but also in the United States, exacerbated by the approach of the presidential election in November.