Venezuela sends delegation to US to formalize relations; US relaxes sanctions

Venezuela announced that a diplomatic delegation will travel to Washington this week to begin a new stage of dialogue with the US, following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in January. In response, the US Administration of Donald Trump relaxed some sanctions to facilitate the reopening of the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.

Key points

• The delegation's trip aims to ratify Venezuela's disposition for dialogue, according to acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
• The US Treasury Department issued a license authorizing Venezuelan missions to pay for goods/services for official use or diplomats' personal use.
• Banks are authorized to operate accounts or grant credits for Venezuelan government missions.
• The purchase or sale of real estate by the missions remains prohibited.
• Diplomatic relations between the two countries, broken since 2019, were formally reestablished earlier in March.
• The US diplomat Laura Dogu arrived in Caracas in late January for a gradual reopening of the US embassy.

Why it matters

This marks a significant step toward the normalization of relations between Venezuela and the US after years of rupture, contingent on concessions from the Venezuelan government to Donald Trump.