By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - US Energy Secretary Chris Wright landed in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Wednesday to finalize a sweeping energy partnership with the country’s interim government.
The visit, the highest-level US diplomatic mission to the country in nearly 30 years, came just one day after Washington issued a general license authorizing American companies to resume oil and gas production in the OPEC nation.
Wright was received at the Miraflores Palace by acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed leadership following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3. The meeting marked a normalization of ties, pivoting from a decade of "maximum pressure" sanctions toward what both sides are calling a "long-term productive partnership."
Following the meeting, Rodriguez emphasized that energy will be the "driving force" of a restored relationship. She noted that despite recent "geopolitical ups and downs," the two nations share a 150-year history as energy partners.
“Diplomatic, political and energy dialogue must be the channels through which we maturely address our differences and move forward,” she told reporters, flanked by US and Venezuelan flags.
She said the talks focused on immediate projects in oil, gas, mining and electricity. Technical teams from both countries are reportedly working "around the clock" to formalize agreements that would modernize Venezuela’s power grid and boost crude output, which currently sits at a fraction of its historical peak.
Wright, representing US President Donald Trump, described the mission as an effort to bring "peace and prosperity" through trade rather than conflict. He acknowledged the toll that years of US sanctions had taken on the Venezuelan people but stressed that the White House is now working "seven days a week" to remove the economic restrictions that have stifled the country.
“We want Venezuela to be free,” he said. “President Trump has a passionate commitment to transforming this relationship as part of a broader agenda to make the Americas greater.”
Wright is scheduled to travel to the Orinoco Belt to visit Petropiar, a major joint venture operated by Chevron and the state-run PDVSA producing and upgrading extra-heavy crude into lighter, exportable synthetic oil. His goal is to assess the "Herculean task" of rehabilitating oil fields that have suffered from years of underinvestment and mismanagement.
He visits Venezuela days after the country’s National Assembly approved a landmark reform of the Hydrocarbons Law that will allow private foreign investors to hold majority stakes and control their own exports.
Wright will conclude his three-day trip on Friday.