Venezuela interim President Rodriguez meets with US envoy

Venezuela's government and the U.S. embassy said on Monday that interim President Delcy Rodriguez met with U.S. envoy Laura Dogu, as the two countries gradually resume bilateral relations broken in 2019.

The government said in a statement that the meeting took place at the Miraflores presidential palace to discuss "the work agenda between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States."

Foreign Minister Yvan Gil added in comments on state television that the conversation covered the "common agenda" between the two countries, especially energy, trade, political and economic issues.

He added that Felix Plasencia, a prior foreign minister who also served as the country's ambassador to China, will travel to Washington in the coming days to serve as Venezuela's "diplomatic representative."

Rodriguez's brother, head of the National Assembly legislature Jorge Rodriguez, attended the meeting, the government said, as did Gil, with whom Dogu met over the weekend following her arrival in Caracas.

"The governments of Venezuela and the United States have set out to advance on a roadmap to address matters of bilateral interest, through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual respect and international law," the statement added.

The U.S. embassy in Venezuela said on social media that Dogu met with Venezuelan officials to "reiterate the three phases that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had outlined for Venezuela: stabilization, economic recovery and reconciliation, and transition."

After months of heightened tensions, the U.S. captured Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro a month ago, setting off a chain of changes in the country, including the swearing in of Rodriguez, the passage of a reform to its flagship oil law and the release of some political prisoners. Rodriguez has said she is seeking "balanced and respectful international relations" with the U.S., while Trump has said the relationship with the interim government is going well.

The two countries have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, and on Friday Rodriguez announced a proposed "amnesty law" for hundreds of prisoners in the country, a move long demanded by the opposition and human rights groups.

-Sonali Paul/Reuters