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LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR

A daily publication Of the dialogue

May 15, 2025

Where Are U.S.-Venezuela Relations Headed?

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello (L-R) recently gave conflicting accounts on how five embattled Venezuelan opposition members departed Caracas. // File Photos: @marcorubio via X, Venezuelan Government.

Q

  • Five aides of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado who, under threat of arrest, had sheltered for more than a year at the Argentine diplomatic compound in Caracas, have left the mission and arrived in the United States, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced May 6. The aides’ departure was negotiated, Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the following day. What does the five opposition members’ departure and other recent developments say about U.S.-Venezuela relations? To what extent are Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and U.S. President Donald Trump interested in cordial relations in order to accomplish their goals? How does the current state of relations between the two countries affect Venezuela’s opposition?

A

Charles Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Venezuela: “Negotiated solution? Diosdado Cabello’s modus operandi is lying. Precision U.S. operation? The U.S. government is hiding the facts behind self-congratulatory braggadocio. Of course Venezuela wants ‘cordial relations’ with the United States, but on its terms: no criticism of human rights abuses or fraudulent elections and no sanctions. Those are the same terms autocrats around the world always want. Those are exactly the terms Hugo Chávez told me he wanted when I presented my credentials to him as U.S. ambassador to Venezuela in March 2002. The Trump administration has two Venezuela policies: One group, led by Marco Rubio, wants to get rid of Maduro at all costs short of military intervention. They want to turn up the heat on the Maduro gang through increased economic sanctions and political pressure. The other…”

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The Inter-American Dialogue publishes the Latin America Advisor every business day for a distinguished membership of informed corporate leaders, scholars, and government officials invested in Latin America’s development and future. The Advisor‘s highly regarded Q&A section covers questions submitted by subscribers themselves. Commentators regularly include heads of state, business leaders, diplomats, economists, analysts, and thought leaders from around the world. Many of the world’s largest and fastest-growing companies subscribe to the Advisor. To subscribe, click here. For terms and conditions, click here. For more information, contact Gene Kuleta, editor of the Advisor, at gkuleta@thedialogue.org.
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Merike Blofield
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Devry Boughner Vorwerk
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Joyce Chang
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Nicolas Mariscal
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Thomas F. McLarty III
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Beatrice Rangel
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Ernesto Revilla
Head of Latin American Economics, Citi

Gustavo Roosen
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