The American flag was raised over the US Embassy in Venezuela Saturday for the first time in years, in a sign of shifting relations between the two countries.
“A new era for US-Venezuela relations has begun,” the US Embassy team wrote in Spanish on X.
“The morning of March 14, 2019, the American flag was lowered for the final time at US Embassy Caracas. This morning, on March 14, 2026, at the same time, my team and I raised the American flag,” said Laura F. Dogu, Washington’s new top envoy to Caracas.
The United States flag was seen raised over the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela for the first time since 2019. AP
The US pulled its embassy staff from Venezuela in 2019 due to the “deteriorating situation,” after then President Nicolás Maduro cut off diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The two countries only agreed to reestablish diplomatic ties after Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture by US troops.
The Star-Spangled Banner immediately caught the eyes of locals Saturday.
“It’s a good thing, really, what a joy,” said Caracas resident Luz Verónica López.
“Other countries must come back too because that’s what we need – progress,” he added. “To move forward with good relations with the rest of the world, as it should be.”
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“This is positive; this is another step,” said Alessandro Di Benedetto, another Caracas resident.
Though Washington publicly says it has “a very good relationship” with Venezuela acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former No. 2, it doesn’t see anyone once loyal to the despot leading the South American country over the long haul.
Last week Reuters reported the Trump administration was eyeing possible corruption and money laundering charges against Rodriguez if she did not continue to comply with the White House’s demands.
The draft criminal indictment, which the US Attorney’s Office in Miami has been quietly building for two months, focuses on her alleged involvement in laundering money from Venezuela’s state oil company, and is currently being used as a bargaining chip.
With Post Wires