- “This is a new beginning for us to aim for a win-win situation that benefits both the United States and Venezuela,” stated the Venezuelan leader.
CARACAS, (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro congratulated Donald Trump on his US presidential election victory and called for renewing bilateral relations based on “dialogue” and “respect.”
In his live podcast on Wednesday, Maduro stated that Trump had a “golden opportunity” “to bring peace to the world” and to change the “harmful relations” that Washington has established with countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.
“This historic return is a golden opportunity for him [Trump] to end wars and […] allow for relationships based on respect, sensibility, dialogue, and understanding with all of Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Maduro.
The Venezuelan leader recalled that during Trump’s first administration from 2017 to 2020, relations between the two nations “did not go well” but expressed optimism about reopening communication for a more “positive” outcome.
“This is a new beginning for us to aim for a win-win situation that benefits both the United States and Venezuela,” he emphasized. “We will always be here, ready for positive relations with the United States and the whole world.”
Maduro had previously stated that whoever won the US presidential election would have to deal with Venezuela’s “revolutionary and Bolivarian” government and people.
Venezuela’s freign ministry likewise issued a communique on Wednesday congratulating Trump on his electoral triumph and recalling the “historical ties” shared between the peoples of Venezuela and the United States.
“We aspire to walk a path of peace and social justice, where cooperation and mutual respect among nations are the hallmark of international relations,” read the statement.
Venezuela has experienced strained relations with Washington under both Democrat and Republican administrations. In 2015, Barack Obama issued a decree declaring Venezuela an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the US which laid the ground for the coercive economic sanctions imposed by his successor, Donald Trump.
The Trump administration targeted nearly every sector of the Venezuelan economy, especially the vital oil industry. As a result, Venezuela experienced the largest economic contraction in recent history as well as an unprecedented migration wave.
Furthermore, in early 2019 the Trump government and dozens of allied countries supported opposition figure Juan Guaidó’s self-proclamation as Venezuela’s “interim president,” leading to Caracas breaking off diplomatic ties with Washington. In response, the US has established a “Venezuela Affairs Unit” in Bogotá.
The Guaidó-led regime-change attempt was followed by Washington’s seizure of US-based refiner CITGO, the country’s most important asset abroad, which is currently set to change ownership under a court-mandated auction process.
The 2020 failed paramilitary invasion “Operation Gideon” likewise happened under the Trump administration but the White House alleged it was not directly involved.
The arrival of Joe Biden’s Democrat administration in 2021 saw the Trump-era Venezuela policy seamlessly kept in place until negotiations led to a temporary reprieve of US unilateral measures in late 2023, adding to the previous sanctions waivers granted by the US Treasury Department to US and European oil companies for limited operations in Venezuela.
However, the departing Biden White House withdrew support for Guaidó’s “interim government” and later threw its backing behind far-right leader María Corina Machado and her presidential aspirations. With Machado banned from running for office, her substitute candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, participated in the July 28 presidential contest that ultimately saw Maduro secure reelection.
Washington is currently backing the opposition’s victory claim but has not officially recognized González – who self-exiled to Spain in September – as president-elect.
Trump, whose new mandate begins on January 20, 2025, has yet to declare his stance regarding Venezuela. Maduro’s third term likewise starts next year with the swear-in ceremony before the National Assembly scheduled for January 10.
During his presidential campaign, Trump only mentioned the Caribbean country to warn about alleged Venezuelan gangs coming to the US, promising massive deportations. He had previously boasted that Venezuela was “ready to collapse” when he left office and that Washington could have “taken all the oil.”
At 78 years old, Trump is the first former US president to be criminally convicted and return to the White House. He was found guilty of falsifying business records and attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. However, the US Supreme Court granted him partial immunity regarding the latter case. Additionally, the mogul and former reality TV star has faced numerous allegations of sexual assault, including rape, some dating back to the 1990s.
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