Nicolás Maduro announced that he would apply for a visa to attend a salsa festival in New York: “We love the United States”

In a new sign of rapprochement in the United States, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has revealed that he will be applying for a U.S. visa to travel with his wife to a salsa festival held in New York.

A few days ago, it was learned that Joe Biden’s government would ease sanctions on its Venezuelan counterpart in exchange for the government’s promise to talk Mexico City with the opposition movement, on what the change in Washington’s harassment policy regarding Caracas.

During a visit to a radio program, the leader of the Venezuelan regime revealed that today will be asked for a North American visa to attend a salsa festival in New York City, scheduled for June 11.

“Cilia (Flores) and I went straight to New York. They were waiting for me in New York. I really like New York, I know New York very well, I’ve driven a lot in New York, “Maduro repeated, in a smiling tone and while salsa could be heard in the background.

In addition, he said he knows the Big Apple neighborhoods. “South of New York is Little Italy. There they sell some global spaghetti. And Chinatown, Manhattan, Puerto Rican neighborhoods and Dominican neighborhoods. That’s where I spent my time, on the streets of New York.”

Amid some laughter from journalists, Maduro went on and was surprised to express his love for the United States while placing a hand on his chest: “My congratulations to all the good people of the United States of America. We love the United States of America. For the United States, all we have is love. “

The music festival Maduro will attend will be held a day after the Summit of the Americas, scheduled for June 6-10 in the city of Los Angeles. The United States will host for the first time since 1994.

In the beginning, Venezuela cannot be invited at the meeting (including Cuba and Nicaragua) for non -compliance with democratic parameters, according to the State Department, even though formal invitations have not yet been issued.

Several regional leaders, including Argentina, they are rooted for the Biden administration to invite a representative of the Maduro government to participate.

The United States-Nicolás Maduro relationship

The United States and nearly 60 other countries recognize Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s interim president and accuse Maduro of leading the collapse of Venezuela’s economy over the past nine years. The Donald Trump administration has imposed harsh sanctions on Caracas and is even considering using force to overthrow Maduro in 2019.

With Biden’s arrival at the White House, the maximum pressure campaign continued. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February created an opening for the administration to directly engage in Caracas.

The White House waited divided the Venezuelan alliance with Moscow and bringing more oil production to market as the war disrupted energy prices. “It is very important to emphasize that this was done in liaison with the interim president, Juan Guaidó, to advance the talks,” a senior administration official said at the time.

In early March, a White House official led the first U.S. delegation to meet with the Maduro government, primarily to negotiate the release of two U.S. detainees.

But at the time, officials acknowledged that energy was another topic of discussion at the meeting. This trip drew strong opposition from Republicans in Congress, who saw this visit as a concession to the Maduro regime.