The Venezuelan government is absolutely ready to normalize its relations with the US, which were severed in 2019, President Nicolas Maduro said the day before yesterday.

During an interview he gave to the French journalist Ignacio Ramonet and the TeleSUR television network, Maduro said that Venezuela is ready to move towards a process of normalization of relations – diplomatic, consular, political – with the US government and any others that may follow.

Socialist President Maduro’s government cut ties with the US in 2019, the year Donald Trump’s administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s Interim President. 

In its bid to oust Mr. Maduro from power, Washington has unleashed a barrage of sanctions on Caracas, including an embargo on Venezuelan oil.

Although the current US President, Joe Biden, continues to not officially recognize Mr. Maduro as Venezuela’s President, saying he was elected by fraud in the 2018 election from which the opposition abstained, the oil crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine has brought efforts to warm up relations.

The White House in 2022 sent envoys to Caracas for negotiations, while easing sanctions on Venezuela after some progress in government talks with the opposition, notably allowing US oil giant Chevron to operate in the Latin American state in principle for the next six months.

The President of Venezuela also said that fruitful progress has been made with the European Union and that there is a “permanent dialogue” with the head of diplomacy of the 27, Giuseppe Borrell.

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