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“Thank you for your visit, and I hope you take a piece of Venezuela with you in your heart,” expressed the acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodríguez to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, in a video that shows them in joint activities, which a Facebook user ironically described as “love at first sight.”
The new tone of harmony and cooperation between Caracas and Washington following the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. military on January 3, continues to evoke astonishment and sarcasm among many observers, including Venezuelans themselves.
In the video in question, the interim leader celebrated the "productive workday" alongside the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, within the framework of strengthening the energy agenda between the two countries. In her message, she expressed gratitude for the official's visit and highlighted the progress in relations concerning oil, gas, and mining.
Rodríguez also stated that the steps taken reflect "the goodwill to build this cooperation agenda in the energy and mining sectors" to strengthen relations between the nations and benefit both the Venezuelan and U.S. populations.
The acting president assured that the participation of Venezuelan companies in international projects will create jobs and new opportunities, and took the opportunity to reiterate her call for migrants to return to the country. “Those who left in search of better economic prospects should return to their homeland to embrace their families and friends,” she expressed.
This call —very similar to the political goal used in her campaign by the opposition leader and now Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado— reminds us that the Venezuelan diaspora, estimated at more than eight million citizens, occurred precisely under the Chavista regime of which Rodríguez has been one of the highest leaders.
The president's post sparked hundreds of comments, with many users reacting sarcastically to the rapprochement between the two nations. For years, the official Venezuelan discourse referred to the U.S. as the "empire," with phrases like, "the empire doesn’t even get water," evoked by the commenter David Alejandro Ibirma.
In the same vein, Carmen Cardoza remarked in a mocking tone, “Who would have thought? Delcy eating from the same plate as the empire.” Other internet users questioned the shift in political rhetoric. Someone wrote that the leader “sold out,” and there were plenty of references to cynicism, pragmatism, or betrayal.
Among the opinions, there were also messages calling for improvements in the internal economic situation, demands for higher wages, and references to other internal issues in the country, such as the weakness of the national currency against the dollar.
Other users, on the other hand, expressed support for the new diplomatic direction, as long as it brings economic and social improvements for the country and the utilization of its natural resources aimed at the progress and well-being of the population.
The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has referred to the three stages that the Trump Administration intends to implement in the South American country: stabilization, recovery, and transition.
In that regard, several high-ranking American officials have already visited Caracas, including the Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, with whom an energy agreement was signed, and the head of Southern Command, Marine General Francis L. Donovan.
While the interim government promotes multidimensional cooperation with the United States and openness to foreign investment, the debate among analysts and on social media reflects both expectations and skepticism, as well as uncertainty about the future of the country in this "new era" of changes led by the same figures from the previous stagnation.
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