LatinNews Daily - 06 March 2026

*Venezuela and the US have agreed to re-establish formal diplomatic relations which had been suspended since 2019. The US State Department announced yesterday that resuming diplomatic and consular relations “will facilitate our joint efforts to promote stability, support economic recovery, and advance political reconciliation in Venezuela”. It added that “our engagement is focused on helping the Venezuelan people move forward through a phased process that creates the conditions for a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government”. The announcement came while US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum was in Caracas for a two-day visit accompanied by a business delegation for talks focused on mining. Burgum was cited by the international media as saying that the US would soon issue general licences to ease sanctions on the mining sector, saying that “I’m feeling very optimistic about an environment where investment is going to flow, not just to offshore oil and gas, not just to Caracas but actually to the interior where these huge resources exist”. US news site Axios reported yesterday that Burgum’s visit included the signing of a deal under which Venezuela’s state mining company, Minerven, will sell up to one tonne of gold to US refineries via Singaporean commodities trader Trafigura. The Venezuelan government also signed an agreement with British oil company Shell yesterday, in a ceremony attended by Burgum, although details of the agreement were not made public. Meanwhile, the UK also sent a delegation to Venezuela yesterday, headed by the foreign office’s Americas director Harriet Thompson, for “meetings with the Venezuelan foreign ministry, as well as meetings with representatives of British companies in the country to explore growth opportunities for the UK and Venezuela”.

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