Top US envoy for Venezuela arrives in Caracas

(Patria) - Laura Dogu, the top US envoy for Venezuela, arrived in Caracas on Saturday as the two countries gradually restore bilateral relations, which were severed in 2019 by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reported.

In a post on Telegram, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said her visit aims to "establish a roadmap on issues of bilateral interest" and "resolve existing differences through diplomatic dialogue and on the basis of mutual understanding and international law".

Dogu, who previously served as ambassador to Honduras and Nicaragua, wrote on social media X that she had arrived in Venezuela and that "my team and I are ready to work".

The United States arrested Maduro on January 3 and brought him to New York on charges of narco-terrorism. Delcy Rodriguez, the interim president of Venezuela, has since said she is seeking to move towards "balanced international relations with respect" with the United States.

The two countries have reached an agreement on the export of Venezuelan oil worth up to two billion dollars to the United States, and Rodriguez announced on Friday a proposed "amnesty law" for hundreds of prisoners in the country and said the Helicoide detention center in Caracas would be converted into a center for sports and social services.