Energy Minister Chris Wright on Wednesday became the highest-ranking US official to visit Caracas since the capture of former President Nicolas Maduro in early January. He met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez and promised a "dramatic increase" in Venezuela's oil production. The American embargo on Venezuelan black gold in force since 2019 is “essentially over”, according to him.
Published on: 02/11/2026 - 6:39 p.m. Modified on: 02/12/2026 - 01:20 a.m.
The American Minister of Energy Chris Wright, visiting Caracas, promised on Wednesday February 11 a "spectacular increase" in oil production in Venezuela, judging the American embargo "essentially over" and relations between the two countries at "a turning point".
Chris Wright met with interim President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. military intervention and capture of President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
“Long live Venezuela and long live the United States!” he said in Spanish alongside Delcy Rodriguez, on the steps of the presidential palace in Caracas. Chris Wright then told the press that relations between the two countries were at “a turning point in history”.
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“Restore all their greatness to the Americas”
He had earlier mentioned a project aimed at "making the Americas great again" and a President Donald Trump "passionately committed" to transforming relations with Caracas, while the two countries severed diplomatic relations in 2019. The American official predicted "an absolutely spectacular change in the trajectory of this nation, in the state of relations between Venezuela and the United States, and in the economic conditions in the hemisphere for trade and commerce".
Delcy Rodriguez, for her part, spoke of "a productive long-term partnership (...) beneficial for both countries". “We spoke very candidly about the enormous opportunities before us and about some of the problems and challenges,” the minister said. The interim president hoped that the United States and Venezuela would find “from their historical differences, the way to continue moving forward.”
Read alsoVenezuela takes a first step towards a historic amnesty law
Delcy Rodriguez has governed under American pressure since coming to power after the capture of Nicolas Maduro by the United States. She agreed to concessions like opening access to Venezuela's vast oil resources and releasing, albeit slowly, political prisoners.
Oil multinationals hesitate to invest
The Trump administration wants major US oil companies to quickly rebuild the sector and increase production by several million barrels per day, saying the two countries will share the profits. We still need to convince the oil majors to invest despite political instability, questions about security and the prospect of heavy expenses to restore production facilities.
Washington established, during Donald Trump's first term, an oil embargo aimed at economically asphyxiating the Caribbean country which depends on its exports of black gold. And upon his return to the White House last year, the Republican ended most of the licenses allowing oil and gas multinationals to operate in Venezuela, with the exception of Chevron.
But this posture has changed completely since the capture of Nicolas Maduro. On Tuesday, Washington continued to lift sanctions to facilitate the exploitation of Venezuelan oil by American companies.
After his meeting with Delcy Rodriguez, Chris Wright told the press that the US embargo on Venezuelan oil in effect since 2019 was "essentially over." Venezuela intends, thanks to its reform of the hydrocarbons law, to increase its crude production by 18% in 2026. The country produced 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2025, after a historic low of around 360,000 b/d in 2020, but still far from the 3 million extracted daily at the start of the century.
With AFP
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