Venezuela’s Top Diplomat Extends Olive Branch, Citing “Sovereign Equality” Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
In a striking public appeal on social media, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, called for “peace and dialogue” with the United States late Sunday, attempting to recalibrate a relationship long defined by hostility and threats. Posting directly to Facebook, Rodríguez framed the outreach as a push for “balanced and respectful international relations,” urging the U.S. government to collaborate on an “agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development.” Her message, which emphasized Venezuela’s “right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future,” carefully avoided the incendiary rhetoric that has often characterized exchanges between Caracas and Washington, instead invoking principles of international law and “sovereign equality.”
The overture comes as the Trump administration maintains significant economic pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro, whom Rodríguez invoked in her statement, repeating his longstanding opposition to foreign intervention. Notably, Rodríguez directly addressed U.S. President Donald Trump in her post, writing, “our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.” Analysts suggest the appeal may be an attempt to project reasonableness on the global stage while solidifying domestic support by positioning Venezuela as a nation seeking peaceful coexistence amidst external pressure. Whether this digital olive branch leads to any tangible diplomatic shift, however, remains deeply uncertain, as decades of mistrust and conflicting demands for political change continue to define the fraught relationship.
