Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez met with a delegation of U.S. congressmen in Caracas on Friday to review progress in the bilateral relationship and assess joint cooperation schemes against transnational organized crime and border security.

The U.S. delegation was led by Republican Representative Brian Mast and included House committee members Randy Fine, Kat Cammack, and Jonathan Jackson. The Venezuelan side featured Foreign Trade Minister Félix Plasencia and Vice Minister for Europe and North America Oliver Blanco, with participation from officials of the Defense Ministry and the National Anti-Drugs Superintendency.

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The encounter comes after both governments decided on March 5 to reestablish diplomatic and consular relations, a step the Bolivarian Government announced had followed “diplomatic dialogue” with U.S. authorities.

Caracas expressed confidence that the process would strengthen understanding and open opportunities for a positive, mutually beneficial relationship, emphasizing that such ties should result in the social and economic well-being of the Venezuelan people.

The Bolivarian Government concluded by evoking Liberator Simón Bolívar, who from Angostura at the birth of the new Republic voiced his desire to establish with the United States “relations of friendship and good understanding.”

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