Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and the U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speak at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 4, 2026. Julio Urribarri/Anadolu via Getty Images

The United States and Venezuela agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations in a major shift in a historically adversarial relationship, the State Department said on Thursday.

"The United States and Venezuela's interim authorities have agreed to re-establish diplomatic and consular relations," the State Department said in a statement. "This step will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela."

The move comes after Trump administration officials have made several visits the South American nation following a U.S. military operation that deposed former President Nicolás Maduro in January, the latest by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum this week. The Trump administration has been stepping up pressure on Maduro loyalists now in power to accept its vision for the oil-rich nation.

Relations between the two countries were cut off in 2019, during the first Trump administration, in a decision by Maduro. They closed their embassies mutually after President Trump gave public support to Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Juan Guaidó, who claimed to be the nation's interim president in January 2019. That same month, amid Venezuelan political unrest and violence, the Trump administration ordered all non-essential American diplomatic staff and government personnel to leave Venezuela.

Since then, the U.S. has operated its consular services out of Bogota, Colombia. In January, following Maduro's capture, the Trump administration notified Congress that it would begin steps to eventually reopen its embassy in Venezuela.

The State Department in its statement said that talks between the countries were "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 announcement was made at the end of a two-day visit by Burgum to Venezuela. The visit largely focused on the country's mining sector. It followed a February visit by Energy Secretary Chris Wright that centered on Venezuela's oil potential. Both secretaries are aiming to shore up foreign investment to advance the administration's phased plan to turn around the crisis-wracked nation.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, formerly Maduro's vice president, said on state televisions that such steps "will strengthen relations between our two countries."

Rodríguez's government in a statement later expressed confidence that reestablishing diplomatic relations "will contribute to strengthening understanding and opening opportunities for a positive and mutually beneficial relationship."

"These relations ought to result in the social and economic happiness of the Venezuelan people," she said.

Since the unprecedented U.S. offensive in Venezuela, the Trump administration has pushed the government to make sweeping changes, including opening its oil sector to foreign companies.

"We told all the companies that we met with the last two days, if they were having any issues with getting material or people through visas or capital into the country, talk to us because we want to help those that want to come here to do constructive work with high integrity. We want to clear the path for them to get here and start working," Burgum told reporters Thursday.

Rodríguez's government also approved an amnesty law that has enabled the release of politicians, activists, lawyers and many others, effectively acknowledging that the government has held hundreds of people in prison for political motivations.

Mr. Trump stunned Venezuelans in and outside their home country with his decision to work with Rodríguez, instead of the political opposition, following Maduro's ouster. On Sunday, Venezuela's top opposition leader and winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado said that she will return to Venezuela in the coming weeks and that elections will be held in Venezuela.

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