Delcy Rodríguez affirms that there is a “dialogue process” with the United States, amid reports about a trip to Washington

“We are in a process of dialogue, work, with the United Stateswithout any fear of facing the differences, the difficulties, the most sensitive and the least sensitive, to face them through diplomacy,” said the president in a work session of the Federal Government Council, in which governors and mayors participated.

Furthermore, he highlighted that James Monroe, the creator of the Monroe doctrine, and Simón Bolívar lived at the same time: “Today it is our turn, through diplomacy, to raise those flags (of Bolivarism).”

Delcy Rodríguez’s words come two weeks after the capture of the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and the ‘first combatant’, his wife Cilia Flores.

“I know that President Maduro is accompanied by the history of Venezuela and accompanies him to give him strength, to continue in the fight, from wherever he is, for our country,” Rodríguez said during the event, broadcast on the public channel Venezolana de Televisión.

Yesterday, the president in charge announced that the first US$300 million arrived product of the sale of Venezuelan oil to the USwithin the framework of an agreement for between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil. He explained that the foreign currency received is part of a first delivery for which Venezuela will receive a total of US$500 million.

He also said that the US$300 million will be used to stabilize the exchange market: “They will go to finance the income of workers and protect purchasing power from inflation, protect from the negative impact of fluctuations in the exchange market,” he stated and indicated that the funds will be administered “through the national bank and the Central Bank of Venezuela” and that they will be assigned to companies in essential sectors.

Since Maduro’s capture, Trump stated that he requested “full access” to Venezuelan oil resources, while his Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, assured that the US will control the sale of crude oil from the South American country for an “indefinite” period.

Beyond some rhetorical sparks, the relationship between Washington and Caracas is fluid. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said last week that the administration Rodríguez has complied with “all demands and requests” of the Trump administration, and even the president himself spoke with Maduro’s former vice president and praised her as a “fantastic person.”

According to the White House, Rodríguez plans to visit Washington although no dates or what the Chavista leader’s agenda would be were revealed. The president in charge, for her part, has said that if she had to visit Washington she would do so “standing, walking, not dragged”.

Last week, however, Rodríguez received in Caracas the CIA Director John Ratcliffewith whom he addressed security issues and opportunities for economic cooperation in an effort to bring positions closer. He was the first Trump administration official to travel to Venezuela after the January 3 attack.