US and Venezuela will resume diplomatic ties with Maduro out

Nick Wadhams and Patricia Laya, Bloomberg News on Mar 5, 2026

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The U.S. and Venezuela agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations, the State Department said, signaling President Donald Trump’s willingness to work with the country’s current leadership now that he’s ousted Nicolás Maduro.

“This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela,” the State Department said in a statement. It added that the U.S. wants to create the conditions “for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government.”

A U.S. military operation captured Maduro in January, bringing him to the U.S. to face narco-trafficking charges. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has struck a far more conciliatory tone toward the U.S. than her predecessor and one-time boss.

The announcement came a day after Rodríguez welcomed a U.S. delegation led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and promised to move at “Trump speed” to unlock her country’s mineral wealth.

Ambassador Laura Dogu, who accompanied Burgum, has been serving as Chargé d’Affaires for the Venezuela Affairs Unit since late January. Rodríguez appointed Félix Plasencia as Venezuela’s representative in the U.S. weeks later.

“This is the formal recognition of the diplomatic relations that existed after the appointment of the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires,” said José Ignacio Hernández, senior specialist at consultancy Aurora Macro Strategies. “The main effect is that Plasencia would most likely be recognized diplomatically, potentially allowing him to take control of diplomatic and consular offices.”

The U.S. closed its embassy in Venezuela’s capital Caracas in 2019, when Trump during his first term recognized opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó as the president and alleged that Maduro’s reelection in 2018 was illegitimate.

The State Department announcement puts to rest any question that the U.S. might officially recognize Edmundo González, who was recognized as the winner of elections in 2024, or try to clear a path for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado to take over.

Trump praised Rodríguez in a social media post on Wednesday, calling her the “President of Venezuela” and saying she’s “doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well.” Rodríguez, in turn, thanked Trump for the post in front of a phalanx of journalists who’d gathered outside the presidential palace.

While resuming diplomatic ties does not amount to U.S. recognition of the interim authorities as Venezuela’s government for legal representation purposes, it is likely a step in that direction, Hernández added.

However, for the Rodríguez administration to regain control of foreign assets and represent the country under U.S. law, further authorization from Trump will be required, said economist Francisco Rodríguez, a professor of international affairs at the University of Denver.

“Whether such authorization is granted will depend on how tight a leash Washington intends to keep the Rodríguez government on,” he said.

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(With assistance from Nicolle Yapur and Andreina Itriago.)