The president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, asked this Thursday the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to end the sanctions and blockade against her country, after the Republican president described Caracas as a “new friend and partner” in his State of the Union address.
“President Trump, as a friend, as a partner, we are opening a new agenda of cooperation with the United States, end the sanctions and end the blockade against our homeland, because this blockade is also against the Venezuelan youth,” said Rodríguez during an event with Chavista youth at the Teresa Carreño Theater, broadcast by the state channel Venezolana de Televisión.
The leader celebrated that Trump referred to Venezuela as a “new friend and partner” and maintained that his country “has never been an enemy country” of the United States.
“Venezuela has never been a country that threatens the United States or any country on the planet,” he stated.
The capture of Maduro and military aggression
Rodríguez assured that Venezuela has been going through an “exceptional phase” since last January 3, when the country experienced a military aggression that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
“We started off on a very bad foot on January 3 of this year,” said Rodríguez, who was accompanied at the event by Congressman Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of Maduro, detained in the United States with his wife, Cilia Flores. Rodríguez asked for “loud applause” for both during the meeting.
Delcy Rodríguez and the speech towards Trump
On January 27, Rodríguez announced the unlocking of Venezuelan assets in the United States as a result of dialogues with the Trump Administration and reported the purchase of hospital equipment with those released resources.
On Tuesday, in his speech before Congress, Trump highlighted the arrival of 80 million barrels of crude oil from Venezuela and highlighted the increase in US oil production by more than 600 thousand barrels per day.
The US unblocks Venezuelan assets, but threatens to use force if Delcy Rodríguez does not cooperate
Since January, diplomatic relations have been reestablished and American companies are positioning themselves to reactivate commercial connections with the South American country.
The Venezuelan Government has repeatedly denounced that billions of dollars in assets, as well as gold and other assets, remain blocked abroad due to international sanctions, including those imposed by the United States.
After the capture of Maduro, the Chavista government has softened its stance towards Washington. In that sense, Rodríguez has defended diplomacy to resolve differences, something that has meant a turn in diplomatic relations in recent years between both parties.
