United States–Venezuela relations

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American–Venezuelan relations
Map indicating locations of USA and Venezuela

United States
Venezuela
Diplomatic mission
Charge d'affairs
)

United States–Venezuela relations have traditionally been characterized by an important trade and investment relationship as well as cooperation in combating the production and transit of illegal drugs.

Relations with the U.S. were strong under democratic governments in Venezuela, such as those of

2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt against Hugo Chávez,[1][2] an accusation that was partly retracted later.[3]

Relations between the United States and Venezuela have been further strained when the country expelled the U.S. ambassador in September 2008 in solidarity with Bolivia after a U.S. ambassador was accused of cooperating with violent anti-government groups in the country. Though relations thawed somewhat under President Barack Obama in June 2009, they steadily deteriorated once again shortly afterwards. In February 2014, the Venezuelan government ordered three American diplomats out of the country on unproved accusations of promoting violence.[4][5]

During the

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis, Nicolás Maduro announced that Venezuela was breaking ties with the United States, following President Trump's announcement that the U.S. recognized Juan Guaidó, the President of the National Assembly, as the interim President.[6] Although the United States stopped recognizing Guaidó's presidential claim when the opposition National Assembly's vote to dissolve Guaidó's interim government took effect in 2023,[7]
the U.S. continues to recognize the 2015 National Assembly.

18th century

See also: Siege of Pensacola

Baton Rouge and Natchez, securing the way for the reconquest of Florida
.

Spanish forces had begun mobilising to support their American allies. Francisco de Miranda, who would later become a Venezuelan independence leader, was ordered to report to the Regiment of Aragon, which sailed from Cadiz in spring of 1780 under Victoriano de Navia's command. Miranda reported to his chief, General Juan Manuel Cagigal y Monserrat, in Havana, Cuba. From their headquarters in Cuba, de Cagigal and Miranda participated in the Siege of Pensacola on 9 May 1781, and Miranda was awarded the temporary title of lieutenant colonel during this action. Miranda also contributed to the French success during the Battle of the Chesapeake when he helped the Comte de Grasse raise needed funds and supplies for the battle.[8]

19th century

During the

American
country. U.S. relations with the governments in Bogotá, Quito and Caracas were not interrupted when Ecuador and Venezuela left the federation in 1830.

20th century

Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903

Main article: Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903

The

Dollar Diplomacy
in Latin America.

When American diplomat,

Venezuelan crisis of 1902–03, Bowen lost confidence. This would eventually lead to the Castro regime's economic policy angering the United States, France, and the Netherlands.[10] This would play a crucial role in the Dutch–Venezuelan crisis of 1908
.

Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship (1953–1958)

Dictator

Exxon[11] to the personal coffers of Pérez Jiménez.[12][13]

Pérez Jiménez received the Legion of Merit from the U.S. government in 1954.[12]

The Seguridad Nacional, headed by Pedro Estrada, tortured thousands of Venezuelans and disappeared several others, both in its headquarters in Caracas and in a confinement camp on Guasina Island in the jungles of the Orinoco. After the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état, when Pérez Jiménez abandoned the government and the country on 23 January 1958, more than 400 prisoners were found in the basement of the headquarters of the Seguridad Nacional.[14]

Democratic period

Main article: Puntofijo Pact

Relations have traditionally been characterized by an important trade and investment relationship and cooperation in combating the production and transit of illegal drugs and were strong under the Puntofijo Pact governments in Venezuela, such as those of Carlos Andrés Pérez and Rafael Caldera.[citation needed]

21st century

Presidency of Hugo Chávez

Politics of Venezuela
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After Hugo Chávez was first elected President of Venezuela by a landslide in 1998, the South American country began to reassert sovereignty over its oil reserves. This action challenged the comfortable position held by U.S. economic interests for the better part of a century. The Chávez administration overturned the privatization of the state-owned oil company PDVSA, raising royalties for foreign firms and eventually doubling the country's GDP.[15] Those oil revenues were used to fund social programs aimed at fostering human development in areas such as health, education, employment, housing, technology, culture, pensions, and access to safe drinking water.

Chávez's public friendship and significant trade relationship with Cuba and Fidel Castro undermined the U.S. policy of isolating Cuba; moreover, on Chávez's initiative, long-running ties between the U.S. and Venezuelan militaries were severed. During Venezuela's presidency of OPEC in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries. In the process, he became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial in the U.S., although, Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq as he drove from his previous stop in Iran.[16]

According to Michal Hertik, there is no benevolent relationship between the Chávez government and United States as a great power. Chávez is not interested in US foreign policy (actually President Bush's beliefs) including "creating a unipolar or bipolar world, effort to create a powerful empire". So he tried to break US imperialism and its interference in the affairs of foreign nation-states. Although he never tried to make South American countries agree with him.[17]

Vargas tragedy

Main article: Vargas tragedy

During the evacuation of survivors of the

Vargas State in 2000 killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed thousands of homes, a disaster relief team from the United States headed up by New Mexico State Senator Joseph Carraro arrived with a medical team and supplies to assess the damage and help those who were displaced. Contact was made with Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico to determine any radioactive activity included in debris field. Water purification and sleeping units were provided.[18]

The disaster clean-up soon became politicized. Chávez initially accepted assistance from anyone who offered, with the United States sending helicopters and dozens of soldiers that arrived two days after the disaster. When defense minister Raúl Salazar complied with the offer of the United States' further aid that included 450 Marines and naval engineers aboard the USS Tortuga which was setting sail to Venezuela, Chávez told Salazar to decline the offer since "[i]t was a matter of sovereignty". Salazar became angry and assumed that Chávez's opinion was influenced by talks with Fidel Castro, though he complied with Chávez's order. Though additional aid was necessary, Chávez thought a more revolutionary image was more important and the USS Tortuga returned to its port.[19]

United States interference allegations

In April 2002, 19 people died in the

Office of the Inspector General found no evidence that "U.S. assistance programs in Venezuela, including those funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), were inconsistent with U.S. law or policy" or ". . . directly contributed, or was intended to contribute, to [the coup d'état]."[24][27]

Chávez also claimed, during the coup's immediate aftermath, that the U.S. was still seeking his overthrow. On 6 October 2002, he stated that he had foiled a new coup plot, and on 20 October 2002, he stated that he had barely escaped an assassination attempt while returning from a trip to Europe. However, his administration failed to investigate or present conclusive evidence to that effect. During that period, the US Ambassador to Venezuela warned the Chávez administration of two potential assassination plots.[26]

Venezuela expelled US naval commander, John Correa, in January 2006. The Venezuelan government claimed Correa, an attaché at the US embassy, had been collecting information from low-ranking Venezuelan military officers. Chávez claimed he had infiltrated the US embassy and found evidence of Correa's spying. The US declared these claims "baseless" and responded by expelling Jeny Figueredo, the chief aid to the Venezuelan ambassador, to the US. Chávez promoted Figueredo to Deputy Foreign Minister to Europe.[28]

Hugo Chávez repeatedly alleged that the US had a plan, entitled Plan Balboa, to invade Venezuela. In an interview with Ted Koppel, Chávez stated "I have evidence that there are plans to invade Venezuela. Furthermore, we have documentation: how many bombers to overfly Venezuela on the day of the invasion, how many trans-Atlantic carriers, how many aircraft carriers..."[29] Neither President Chávez nor officials of his administration ever presented such evidence. The US denied the allegations, saying that Plan Balboa was a military simulation carried out by Spain.[30]

On 20 February 2005, Chávez reported that the U.S. had plans to have him assassinated; he stated that any such attempt would result in an immediate cessation of U.S.-bound Venezuelan petroleum shipments.[31]

Economic relations

Chávez's socialist ideology and the tensions between the Venezuelan and the United States governments had little impact on economic relations between the two countries. On 15 September 2005, President Bush designated Venezuela as a country that has "failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics agreements." However, at the same time, the President waived the economic sanctions that would normally accompany such a designation, because they would have curtailed his government's assistance for democracy programs in Venezuela.[32] In 2006, the United States remained Venezuela's most important trading partner for both oil exports and general imports – bilateral trade expanded 36% during that year[33] As of 2007, the U.S. imported more than $40 billion in oil from Venezuela and the trade between the countries topped $50 billion despite the tumultuous relationship between the two.[34]

With rising oil prices and Venezuela's oil exports accounting for the bulk of trade, bilateral trade between the US and Venezuela surged, with US companies and the Venezuelan government benefiting.[35] Nonetheless, since May 2006, the Department of State, pursuant to Section 40A of the Arms Export Control Act, has prohibited the sale of defense articles and services to Venezuela because of lack of cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts.[36]

Opposition to U.S. foreign policy

Since the election of Hugo Chávez in 1999, relations between Venezuela and the United States deteriorated markedly, and continued to worsen after the election of George W. Bush, as Chávez became highly critical of the U.S. economic and foreign policy. Moreover, he criticized U.S. policy with regards to Iraq, Haiti, Kosovo the Free Trade Area of the Americas, and other areas. Chávez also denounced the U.S.-backed ouster of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004.[citation needed] In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Chávez said that Bush promoted "a false democracy of the elite" and a "democracy of bombs."[37]

Chávez's public friendship and significant trade relationship with

$25 a barrel prior to 2004. During Venezuela's holding of the OPEC presidency in 2000, Chávez made a ten-day tour of OPEC countries. In the process, he became the first head of state to meet Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. The visit was controversial both in Venezuela and in the US, although Chávez did respect the ban on international flights to and from Iraq (he drove from Iran, his previous stop).[38]

The Bush administration consistently opposed Chávez's policies. Although it did not immediately recognize the Carmona government upon its installation during the 2002 attempted coup, it had funded groups behind the coup, speedily acknowledged the new government and seemed to hope it would last.

democracies was widely seen as an attempt at diplomatically isolating both Chávez and the Venezuelan government. The failure of the resolution was seen by analysts as politically significant, evidencing widespread support in Latin America for Chávez, his policies, and his views.[citation needed
]

The U.S. also opposed and lobbied against numerous Venezuelan arms purchases made under Chávez. This includes a purchase of some 100,000

U.S. State Department officials stated that the DEA agents' presence was intended to stem cocaine traffic from Colombia, Chávez argued that there was reason to believe the DEA agents were gathering intelligence for a clandestine assassination targeting him, with the ultimate aim of ending the Bolivarian Revolution.[citation needed
]

When a Marxist insurgency picked up speed in Colombia in the early 2000s, Chávez chose not to support the U.S. in its backing of the Colombian government. Instead, Chávez declared Venezuela to be neutral in the dispute, yet another action that irritated American officials and tensed up relations between the two nations. The border between Venezuela and Colombia was one of the most dangerous borders in Latin America at the time, because of Colombia's war spilling over to Venezuela.[40]

Chávez dared the U.S. on 14 March 2008 to put Venezuela on a list of countries accused of supporting terrorism, calling it one more attempt by Washington, D.C. to undermine him for political reasons.[41]

In May 2011, Venezuela was one of the few countries to condemn the

2011 Libyan civil war who had been killed the day prior to bin Laden's death) "are openly celebrated by the leaders of the nations that bomb them."[42]

Personal disputes

Chávez's anti-U.S. rhetoric sometimes touched the personal: in response to the ouster of

2006 speech at the UN he referred to Bush as "the Devil" while speaking at the same podium the US president had used the previous day claiming that "it still smells of sulphur".[44] He later commented that Barack Obama "shared the same stench".[45]

During his weekly address

alcoholic".[47]

Relations with Cuba and Iran

Chávez's warm friendship with former Cuban President Fidel Castro, in addition to Venezuela's significant and expanding economic, social, and aid relationships with Cuba, undermined the U.S. policy objective seeking to isolate the island. In 2000 Venezuela stepped in to bolster the Cuban crisis arising from the fall of the Soviet Union. Venezuela agreed to provide Cuba with a third of its oil needs,[48] at a 40% discount supplemented by a subsidized loan, the value of which was estimated at $1.5-billion per year. In return, Cuba was to deliver doctors to work in Venezuela. The Venezuela assistance to the Cuban economy was estimated at between $10 billion to $13 billion annually between 2010 and 2013.[49]

Chávez consolidated diplomatic relations with Iran, including defending its right to civilian nuclear power.[50] Venezuela severed diplomatic relations with Israel in January 2009.

Organization of American States

At the 2005 meeting of the Organization of American States, a United States resolution to add a mechanism to monitor the nature of democracies was widely seen as a move to isolate Venezuela. The failure of the resolution was seen as politically significant, expressing Latin American support for Chávez.[51]

Hurricane Katrina

After

William Brownfield welcomed the offer of fuel assistance to the region, calling it "a generous offer" and saying "when we are talking about one-to-five million dollars, that is real money. I want to recognize that and say, 'thank you.'"[54]

In November 2005, following negotiations by leading US politicians for the US' largest fuel distributors to offer discounts to the less well-off, officials in

geopolitical stage" and that "it is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."[56]

U.S. administrations

In September 2008, following retaliatory measures in support of Bolivia, Chávez expelled the U.S. ambassador Patrick Duddy. Chávez labeled Duddy persona non-grata after accusing him of aiding a conspiracy against his government – a charge Duddy consequently denied.[57]

Despite allegedly waning of Hugo Chávez's aggressive foreign policy due to the

Chávez
.

In January 2009, Chávez announced an investigation into the US Chargé d'Affairs, John Caulfield, who is the leading US diplomat after Duddy's expulsion. He contended that Caulfield had possibly met with opposition Venezuelans in exile in Puerto Rico; an official spokeswoman from the United States said Caulfield was there for a wedding. Chávez used the occasion to accuse "the empire" of using Puerto Rico as a base for actions against him and Latin America. He referred to Puerto Rico as a "gringo colony" and that one day the island would be liberated.[64]

Presidency of Barack Obama

During the 2008 U.S. election, Chávez declared that he had no preference between Barack Obama and John McCain stating "the two candidates for the US presidency attack us equally, they attack us defending the interests of the empire".[65] After Obama had won the election, Venezuela's foreign minister labeled the outcome an historic moment in international relations and added that the American people had chosen a "new brand" of diplomacy. When Chávez was asked if the previously expelled ambassadors for each country would return, he replied "everything has its time."[citation needed] However, at a rally the evening before the 4 November elections where Chávez was supporting his own candidates Chávez echoed a sentiment by Lula of Brazil and Morales of Bolivia, referencing the change happening in Latin America seemed to be taking place in the US. He expressed hope that he would meet with Obama as soon as possible.[57] However, on 22 March 2009, Chávez called Obama "ignorant" and claimed Obama "has the same stench as Bush", after the US accused Venezuela of supporting the insurgent Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).[66] Chávez was offended after Obama said that he had "been a force that has interrupted progress in the region", resulting in his decision to put Venezuela's new ambassador to the United States on hold.[67]

During the Summit of the Americas on 17 April 2009, Chávez met with Obama for the first, and only, time where he expressed his wish to become Obama's friend.[68][69]

Chávez meets with Hillary Clinton on 1 January 2011, Brasília

On 20 December 2011, Chávez called Obama "A clown, an embarrassment, and a shame to Black People" after Obama criticized Venezuela's ties with Iran and Cuba.[70]

Venezuela and the United States have not had ambassadors in each other's capitals since 2010.[71] Shortly before the 2012 US presidential elections, Chávez announced that if he could vote in the election, he would vote for Obama.[72] In 2013, before Chávez died, Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro expelled two U.S. military attaches from the country, saying they were plotting against Venezuela by attempting to recruit Venezuelan military personnel to destabilize Venezuela and suggested they caused Chávez's cancer.[73] The Obama administration rejected the allegations and responded by expelling two Venezuelan diplomats.[74]

President Barack Obama signed the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014, a U.S. act imposing sanctions on Venezuelan individuals held responsible by the United States for human rights violations during the 2014 Venezuelan protests, in December of that year.[75][76] It "requires the President to impose sanctions" on those "responsible for significant acts of violence or serious human rights abuses associated with February 2014 protests or, more broadly, against anyone who has directed or ordered the arrest or prosecution of a person primarily because of the person's legitimate exercise of freedom of expression or assembly".[77] The act was extended in 2016 to expire on 31 December 2019.[78]

On 2 February 2015, the

human rights abuses and political corruption.[79] The visa restrictions also included family members, with the Department of State saying, "We are sending a clear message that human rights abusers, those who profit from public corruption, and their families are not welcome in the United States".[79]

Obama issued Executive Order 13692 in March 2015, which blocks assets or imposes travel bans on those "involved in or responsible for the erosion of human rights guarantees, persecution of political opponents, curtailment of press freedoms, use of violence and human rights violations and abuses in response to antigovernment protests, and

sanctioned seven individuals, and the Trump administration has sanctioned 73 as of 8 March 2019.[77]

In December 2011, Chávez, already under treatment for cancer, wondered out loud: "would it be so strange that they’ve invented the technology to spread cancer and we won't know about it for 50 years?" The Venezuelan president was speaking one day after Argentina's leftist president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, announced she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. This was after three other prominent leftist Latin America leaders had been diagnosed with cancer: Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff; former Paraguayan president, Fernando Lugo, and the former Brazilian leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The Guardian newspaper's Venezuela expert, Rory Carroll, has glibly categorized serious charges that Chávez was assassinated by a United States-produced bio-weapon as being in the same league with "conspiracy theorists who wonder about aliens at Roswell and NASA faking the moon landings". A number of Venezuelan officials[81] believe a hostile party covertly introduced an aggressive form of cancer into the 58-year-old president.[citation needed]

Presidency of Donald Trump

The Trump administration's foreign policy regarding Venezuela was aimed at supporting Guaidó and isolating Maduro. They used these methods to achieve their goals:"sanctions and visa revocations on Maduro government officials and their families, broader sanctions on the economy and government".[82]

When the UN General Assembly voted to add Venezuela to the

US Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft wrote: "I am personally aggrieved that 105 countries voted in favor of this affront to human life and dignity. It provides ironclad proof that the Human Rights Council is broken, and reinforces why the United States withdrew."[83] Venezuela had been accused of withholding from the Venezuelan people humanitarian aid delivered from other nations, and of manipulating its voters in exchange for food and medical care.[83] The council had been criticized regularly for admitting members who were themselves suspected of human rights violations.[83]

In January 2019, the possibility of U.S. military intervention in Venezuela was proposed by President Trump and other officials. U.S. allies and Members of Congress disagreed with the proposal of intervention. So the Trump administration applied other alternatives to put Maduro under pressure.[82]

President Donald Trump was hostile to the Maduro government. In 2020 the U.S. indicted Maduro and several other high government officials on narco-terrorism charges, offering a US$15 million reward for his capture.[84]

In May 2020, Two Americans, both former U.S. special forces soldiers were among the mercenaries captured during an unsuccessful invasion in Macuto, Venezuela.[85]

Halliburton, an American oil services company, was forced to cease operations in Venezuela in December 2020.[86]

Six American oil company representatives held in prison since 2017, known as the Citgo Six, were convicted of corruption in November 2021.[87]

On the last full day of his presidency, 19 January 2021, Donald Trump protected 145,000 Venezuelan citizens living in the U.S. from deportation for 18 months.[88]

Presidency of Joe Biden

On 9 March 2021, President Joe Biden granted temporary protected status (TPS) to Venezuelan immigrants in the United States.[89]

On 5 March 2022, the U.S. sent a special envoy to

invasion of Ukraine would be slightly below the amount Venezuela exported to the U.S. in 2018.[90]

On March 9, 2022, one of the Citgo Six was released following a meeting between US officials, including US Ambassador to Venezuela James B. Story, and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.[91] On October 1, 2022, the remaining five members of the Citgo Six were released following a prisoner exchange.[92]

October 2023 sanction relief

In October 2023, the

2023 Venezuela election agreement signed in Barbados between the Venezuelan government under Nicolás Maduro and opposition factions, though pre-existing sanctions targeting the nation's gold industry were to remain in place.[93] The agreement aimed for equitable access to both private and public media for all political candidates in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, as well as guarantees on freedom of movement and safety.[94] To bolster the credibility of the electoral process, the Venezuelan government extended invitations to international electoral monitoring observers[95]

US

Secretary of State Antony Blinken further advocated for the release of wrongfully detained US and political prisoners, and in a joint statement between the US, European Union, United Kingdom and Canada welcomed the agreement, calling it a necessary step toward the “restoration of democracy in Venezuela”.[96] Both the US and EU had previously deemed Venezuelan elections and "illegitimate" and demanded a "specific timeline and process for the expedited reinstatement of all candidates".[97]

In November 2023, following the easing of sanctions by the Biden administration, the Venezuelan government announced the resumption of talks with six multinational corporations aimed at restoring the nation's oil production.[98] However, in early December 2023, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby stated that the US was prepared to "pause" sanction relief unless the Maduro government could demonstrate renewed progress towards the release of political prisoners and US nationals detained in Venezuela.[99]

Presidency of Nicolás Maduro

Further information:
International sanctions during the Venezuelan crisis

On 1 October 2013, the US ordered three Venezuelan diplomats out of the country in response to the Venezuelan government's decision to expel three US officials from Venezuela.[100]

On 16 February 2014, President Maduro announced he had ordered another three US consular officials to leave the country, accusing them of conspiring against the government and aiding opposition protests. Maduro described the US statements that claimed to be concerned with rising tensions and protests and warned against Venezuela's possible arrest of the country's opposition leader as "unacceptable" and "insolent." He said, "I don't take orders from anyone in the world."[101] On 25 February 2014, the United States responded by expelling three additional Venezuelan diplomats from the country.[102]

On 28 May 2014, the

Venezuelan Human Rights and Democracy Protection Act (H.R. 4587; 113th Congress), a bill that would apply economic sanctions against Venezuelan officials who were involved in the mistreatment of protestors during the 2014 Venezuelan protests.[103]

In December 2014, the US Congress passed Senate 2142 (the "Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014").[104]

Maduro meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on 26 September 2016

On 9 March 2015, the United States President, Barack Obama, signed and issued a presidential order declaring Venezuela a "threat to its national security" and ordered sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced the sanctions as an attempt to topple his socialist government. Washington said that the sanctions targeted individuals who were involved in the violation of Venezuelans' human rights, saying that "we are deeply concerned by the Venezuelan government's efforts to escalate intimidation of its political opponents".[105]

The sanctions were denounced by other Latin American countries. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States issued a statement criticizing Washington's "unilateral coercive measures against International Law."[106] Between 2014 and 2020, United States sanctions against Venezuela are estimated to have caused the deaths of 100,000 people due to the difficulty of importing medicine and health care equipment, according to academic Helen Yaffe.[107]

Following the election of

Donald Trump's inauguration on 20 January 2017.[108]

On 20 April 2017, the Venezuelan Government seized the General Motors plant in the Venezuelan state of Zulia, causing the plant to close operations.[109]

2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis

Main article: 2017 Venezuelan constitutional crisis

On 11 August 2017, President Trump said that he is "not going to rule out a military option" to confront the autocratic government of Nicolás Maduro and the deepening crisis in Venezuela.

Constituent Assembly of Venezuela session that if the United States were to attack Venezuela, "the rifles would arrive in New York, Mr. Trump, we would arrive and take the White House."[112]

2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis and rapprochement

Main article: Venezuelan presidential crisis
See also:
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
23 January 2019 communication from National Assembly to ambassadors

On 23 January 2019, Maduro announced that Venezuela was breaking ties with the United States following President Trump's announcement of recognizing Juan Guaidó, the leader of Venezuela's National Assembly, as the interim President of Venezuela.[6] Maduro said all US diplomats must leave within 72 hours, but Guaidó said that they should stay.[113] Maduro later confirmed the closure of the Venezuelan Embassy and all consulates in the United States.[114] In response Maduro ordered the expulsion of US diplomats, giving them 72 hours to leave Venezuela. The US said it would not close its embassy, stating their diplomatic relationship was with Guaidó's government, and holding Maduro responsible for the safety of its staff.[115][116][117] On 26 January 2019, only hours before the deadline, the Maduro government backtracked on its expulsion order, giving US diplomats another 30 days.[118]

President Donald Trump warned Venezuelan soldiers to renounce loyalty to Nicolás Maduro.[119]

The last U.S. diplomats in Caracas left Venezuela on Thursday, 14 March, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Their departure put an end to a U.S. presence in Venezuela, after president Maduro effectively broke off diplomatic relations with the U.S. in late January.[citation needed]

On 5 April 2019, the United States signed a

Bogota, Colombia to serves as an interim diplomatic office to Venezuela.[125]

In the spring of 2020 the United States stepped up pressure on Maduro. On 26 March the

coup d'etat" and "attempted assassination".[128] On 31 March, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that sanctions did not apply to humanitarian aid during the health emergency and that the United States would lift its sanctions if Maduro agreed to organize elections that did not include Maduro in a period of six to twelve months and reiterated U.S. support for Guaidó.[129] Then on 1 April President Trump announced that he was sending anti-drug Navy ships and AWACS planes to the region near Venezuela in one of the largest military build-ups in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama to remove General Manuel Noriega from power.[130]

In March 2022, the U.S. and Venezuela had a gradual rapprochement as they began easing sanctions on Venezuelan oil as it was impacted due to

illegal invasion of Ukraine that began a month prior.[131] Later, in December 2022, the interim government which was recognized by the United States was dissolved.[132] Despite the dissolution, the U.S. Government continued to recognize the 2015 National Assembly.[133] Days after the government has dissolved, the Venezuelan embassy which was run by the interim government suspended its operations.[134]

Public opinion

Despite the continually strained ties between the two governments, 82% of

Venezuelans viewed the U.S. positively in 2002, though this view declined down to 62% in 2014 (per the Pew Research Global Attitudes Project).[135] The Gallup Global Leadership Report indicates that as of 2013, 35% of Venezuelans approve of United States' global leadership, and 35% disapprove.[136] The Spring 2017 Global Attitudes Survey by Pew Research Center found that 47% of the Venezuelan population views the United States favorably and 35% view it unfavorable."[137]

SICOFAA

In 1960, the UNITAS naval exercises and in-port training involving several countries in North, South and Central America were conducted for the first time in Venezuelan territorial waters in support of the

SICOFAA.[citation needed
]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Observer International, 2002, 'Venezuela coup linked to Bush team'. Retrieved 22 September 2007
  2. ^ Palast, Greg (13 May 2002). "Warning to Venezuelan leader". Newsnight. BBC News. Retrieved 22 September 2007.
  3. ISBN 978-0143124887
    .
  4. ^ "Venezuela expels 3 American Diplomats over Violence Conspiracy". news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  5. ^ President Chavez ordered the expulsion of the U.S. Ambassador, John Duddy, on 11 September 2008, in solidarity with the Bolivian government's decision to expel the U.S. Ambassador in La Paz. The U.S. Government ordered the reciprocal expulsion of the Venezuelan Ambassador in Washington. Source: U.S. Department of State Background Notes on Venezuela
  6. ^ a b "Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro gives American diplomats 72 hours to leave". CNBC. 23 January 2019.
  7. ^ Lawler, Dave (4 January 2023). "U.S. no longer recognizes Guaidó as Venezuela's president, Biden official confirms". Axios. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ^ Thorning, Joseph F. Miranda: World Citizen. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, FL, 1952
  9. ^ Robertson (1915), pp. 189–190.
  10. JSTOR 2512193
    . See p. 483.
  11. JSTOR 2616551
    .
  12. ^ a b Szulc, Tad (1959). Twilight of Tyrants. New York.
  13. ^ "FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1952–1954, THE AMERICAN REPUBLICS, VOLUME IV: Venezuela". history.state.gov.
  14. ^ Rother, larry (22 September 2001). "Marcos Perez Jimenez, 87, Venezuela Ruler". The New York Times.
  15. ^ Ray, Mark Weisbrot, Luis Sandoval, Rebecca. "The Chávez Administration at 10 Years: The Economy and Social Indicators".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ – Chavez's tour of OPEC nations arrives in Baghdad Archived 12 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine. CNN. 10 August 2000
  17. ^ Hertik, Michal. "Venezuela and USA: Relations and Conflicts". aidiaasia.
  18. ^ Wieczorek GF, Larsen MC, Eaton LS, Morgan BA, Blair JL (2 December 2002). "Debris-flow and flooding hazards associated with the December 1999 storm in coastal Venezuela and strategies for mitigation". U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
  19. ISBN 978-0143124887
    .
  20. ^ a b Forero, Juan (3 December 2004). "Documents Show C.I.A. Knew of a Coup Plot in Venezuela". The New York Times.
  21. Campbell, Duncan (29 April 2006). "American navy 'helped Venezuelan coup'"
    . The Guardian. London. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
  22. ^ "US investigates Venezuela coup role". BBC News. 14 May 2002. Retrieved 21 June 2006.
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Further reading


  • Singh, Kelvin. "Oil Politics in Venezuela During the López Contreras Administration (1936–1941)." Journal of Latin American Studies 21.1-2 (1989): 89–104.
  • Tsvetkova, Natalia, et al. "Venezuela in US public diplomacy, 1950s–2000s: The Cold War, democratization, and the digitalization of politics." Cogent Social Sciences 5.1 (2019): 1693109. online

External links

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