In a major national rally held in Venezuela’s western Lara State as part of a nationwide campaign calling for an end to punitive U.S. measures and lasting peace, acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez has publicly reaffirmed that any future diplomatic relations between Caracas and Washington can only proceed on the foundation of full mutual respect. The high-profile statement came on the same day that new U.S. special envoy John Barrett touched down in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, a development that follows the January 2026 U.S. military operation that resulted in the forced removal of sitting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Rodriguez, who was leading the “Great National Pilgrimage for a Venezuela Without Sanctions and in Peace” — a cross-country movement that kicked off formally in Maracaibo on April 19, 2026, to rally public support for ending decades of U.S. economic restrictions — made clear that the Venezuelan side is open to continuing its diplomatic work agenda with the newly arrived U.S. representative, but that non-negotiable respect for Venezuelan sovereignty forms the baseline of any engagement.
A core demand at the heart of Rodriguez’s address was the full, permanent removal of all the increasingly harsh economic sanctions that the United States has levied against Venezuela over the course of many years. These restrictions have placed crippling pressure on the country’s economy and everyday Venezuelan households for more than a decade. Even in the face of these punitive measures, Rodriguez highlighted that the Venezuelan government and its population have demonstrated remarkable resilience, successfully expanding domestic production and building up the country’s independent economic and institutional capacities against the odds.
Looking ahead to the country’s future, Rodriguez called on all of Venezuela’s diverse political and social factions to set aside differences, engage in collective reflection, and work in unity to prevent a repeat of the January 3 U.S. military incursion that upended the country’s existing political order and led to Maduro’s forced seizure. “May missiles and bombs never again fall on our territory,” she emphasized, echoing the widespread Venezuelan public desire for lasting peace and sovereign self-determination. The address comes at a pivotal moment for U.S.-Venezuela relations, as Washington pushes its proposed political transition plan for the South American nation amid ongoing domestic and international tension over the intervention.