Estados Unidos y Venezuela acordaron formalmente restablecer relaciones diplomáticas. Lo anunció el departamento de Estado de EE.UU ., a poco más de dos meses del ataque estadounidense a Caracas y captura de Nicolás Maduro el 3 de enero pasado.

Leé también: Después de Venezuela e Irán, Trump dijo que la caída de la Revolución cubana será “la frutilla del postre”

Este jueves, en un evento en la Casa Blanca en el que Donald Trump recibió al equipo del Inter Miami de Lionel Messi, el presidente estadounidense volvió a elogiar a la gobernante encargada Delcy Rodríguez y dijo que realiza un “trabajo excelente”.

La mandataria chavista confirmó el anuncio. Poco después, un comunicado de la Cancillería reseñó que el país apostaba por “una nueva etapa” en la relación con Estados Unidos “basada en el respeto mutuo”.

El gobierno chavista “reafirma su disposición de avanzar en una nueva etapa de diálogo constructivo, basada en el respeto mutuo, la igualdad soberana de los Estados y la cooperación entre nuestros pueblos”, indicó. Además, mencionó una “relación positiva y de beneficio compartido”.

Los lazos diplomáticos entre ambos países se habían interrumpido en 2019 después que Washington reconoció al líder opositor Juan Guaidó como presidente interino. A fines de enero aterrizó en Caracas Laura Dogu, la nueva encargada de negocios estadounidense, con la misión de reabrir la misión en suelo venezolano. Poco después, el gobierno chavista nombró a Félix Plasencia como representante diplomático de Venezuela ante Estados Unidos.

Qué dijo el Departamento de Estado

En una nueva señal de deshielo tras la captura de Maduro, el departamento de Estado en Washington anunció que “Estados Unidos y las autoridades interinas de Venezuela han acordado restablecer las relaciones diplomáticas y consulares”.

“Este paso facilitará nuestros esfuerzos conjuntos para promover la estabilidad, apoyar la recuperación económica y avanzar en la reconciliación política en Venezuela”, señaló.

Además, afirmó: “Nuestro compromiso está orientado a ayudar al pueblo venezolano a avanzar a través de un proceso por etapas que cree las condiciones para una transición pacífica hacia un gobierno elegido democráticamente”.

Tras el ataque estadounidense, el nuevo gobierno chavista de Delcy Rodríguez inició una gestión bajo “tutelaje” de Trump.

Leé también: Trump echó a la secretaria de Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU., responsable de las redadas contra inmigrantes

Desde entonces, Trump le ordenó cortar el suministro petrolero a Cuba, vital para mantener el vetusto sistema energético de la isla, que está ahora bajo un virtual colapso energético, sin transporte y con apagones interminables.

Además, Venezuela realizó una histórico reforma a la ley de hidrocarburos que abrió el sector a la inversión extranjera. El país le está vendiendo petróleo a Estados Unidos y se apresta a firmar acuerdos mineros con Washington.

Trump viene elogiando periódicamente el gobierno residual chavista y dijo incluso que la líder opositora y premio Nobel de la paz, María Corina Machado, no tiene el suficiente respaldo para asumir el poder.

El Parlamento venezolano aprobó una amnistía para presos políticos que posibilitó la liberación de más de un centenar de detenidos, entre ellos tres argentinos, aunque organismos de derechos humanos dijeron que se trata de una medida “excluyente” que deja de lado a cientos de encarcelados.

El 11 de febrero había estado en Caracas el secretario de Energía, Chris Wright.

Esta semana estuvo en el país Doug Burgum, secretario del Interior de Estados Unidos. Tras una visita de dos días, finalizada este jueves, firmó que la reforma a la Ley de Minas anunciada este miércoles por Delcy Rodríguez creará oportunidades para las empresas.

“Esto literalmente podría convertir a Venezuela en uno de los países más ricos del mundo, y tenerlos como amigo, aliado y socio comercial resulta absolutamente fantástico”, afirmó.

Venezuela es un país rico en minerales como oro, diamante, bauxita y coltán.

Delcy Rodríguez impulsa también una reforma a la ley de minería.

In less than a week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has gone from supporting U.S. actions against Iran to raising the issue that the U.S. and Israel «acted without engaging the United Nations or consulting with allies, including Canada» to on Wednesday not ruling out Canadian military participation in the conflict.

«He’s been all over the place,» Nader Hashemi, a Canadian-born associate professor of Middle East politics at Georgetown University, told Fox News Digital. «It doesn’t look very good for him or for the government of Canada.»

«My own reading is that he’s influenced by public opinion and his understanding of Canada’s national interests and where they lie, and specifically the relationship with the United States at its core. His first statement was very supportive of the American-Israeli attack and then he walked it back two days later when he got a lot of pushback because there was no reference to Canada’s support for international law, rules-based order and the United Nations.»

When asked whether Canada would join the U.S. military against Iran during his visit to Australia on Wednesday, Carney told reporters that «one can never categorically rule out participation» and that Canada «will stand by our allies, when makes sense.»

However, former NATO commander and retired Canadian major-general David Fraser told CTV News Channel that it’s «unlikely» that Canada would be drawn into the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran unless a member state, such as Turkey, called for assistance under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.

Carney’s latest comments signal the Canadian prime minister’s desire to ensure that «it doesn’t create a deeper rupture with the United States than already exists,» said Hashemi.

Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of the Canadian Conservative Party, summarized the prime minister’s changing position on the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran with a post on X: «We support it, we’re upset about it, we think it’s bad, but also, we might join in.»

Her colleague, Michael Chong, the Conservative shadow minister for foreign affairs, told Canadian broadcaster CTV that «supporting the airstrikes and at the same time calling for a secession of those strikes» is «an inherent contradiction.»

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US President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025.   (Jim Watson / AFP)

Carney has also had pushback from the political left.

After the airstrikes against Iran began, Alexandre Boulerice, foreign affairs critic for the New Democratic Party of Canada, said in a statement that his party «strongly condemns the American and Israeli bombings of Iran» and «deplores the Carney government’s decision to blindly support this dangerous venture by Israel and Donald Trump’s administration. We want Canada to be a voice for diplomacy, peace and international law.»

During his Australian tour this week, the prime minister said that «hegemons are increasingly acting without constraint or respect for international norms or laws while others bear the consequences.»

U.S. Central Command released a video on Thursday, March 5, 2026, showing American aircraft taking off during Operation Epic Fury against Iran. (CENTCOM)

He also said Canada supports «efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,» but noted that Canada «take[s] this position with regret because the current conflict is another example of the failure of the international order.»

Carney said that «Canada calls for a rapid de-escalation of hostilities and is prepared to assist in achieving this goal.»

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At a security and defense conference in Ottawa, also this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said that Canada calls «on all sides to respect the rules of international engagement» and that «international law binds all parties» in the Middle East conflict.

The results of an Angus Reid Institute poll, involving 1,619 respondents and released on Tuesday, showed that 49% of Canadians opposed the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran, while 34% were supportive.

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War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that Iran’s decision to strike neighboring countries has backfired strategically, driving Gulf states that had hoped to stay out of the conflict «into the American orbit» as the U.S. prepares to dramatically increase firepower over Tehran.

«What Iran is doing by targeting allied countries that would otherwise want to stay out of this, they’ve actually pulled them into the American orbit,» Hegseth said during a briefing at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida.

He cited the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as countries now offering expanded cooperation, arguing that Tehran’s retaliatory campaign has strengthened regional alignment with Washington rather than weakened it.

The comments come as U.S. military officials say Iran has launched strikes against a growing number of countries in the region since the conflict began, with CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper noting Tehran has targeted at least a dozen nations.

Rather than isolating the United States, Hegseth suggested Iran’s actions are consolidating support for the campaign.

«The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically,» he said, pointing to additional basing access and increased bomber operations.

Hegseth also addressed allied basing access, including the United Kingdom’s initial hesitation to grant U.S. forces early access to strategic facilities.

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«It was unfortunate that … the Brits didn’t, from day one say, hey, go ahead and have access,» he said. «But we got there, we got there. And that’s now part of the way that we’re operationalizing bomber runs … The amount of firepower over Iran and over Tehran is about to surge dramatically, and part of it is that we’re going to have even more basing.»

Gulf and Arab governments have publicly condemned Iranian missile and drone strikes on their territories as violations of sovereignty and threats to regional security, while stopping short of criticizing U.S. military action.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan issued a joint statement strongly condemning Iran’s «indiscriminate and reckless» missile and drone attacks against sovereign territory in the region, reaffirming their right to self-defense.

Regional leaders have framed Iran’s actions as dangerous escalations rather than legitimate retaliation, underscoring a rare moment of unified public opposition among Gulf Cooperation Council members.

Beyond the Gulf, Azerbaijan has also protested what it says were Iranian drone strikes on its Nakhchivan exclave, which injured civilians and damaged the international airport. Baku summoned Tehran’s ambassador and said it reserved the right to take retaliatory measures in defense of its territory, even as Tehran denied responsibility for the incident.

Some regional analysts say Iran appears to have miscalculated by striking at U.S. assets in third party nations.

U.S. Central Command released footage showing strikes on Iranian mobile missile launchers. (@CENTCOM via X)

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«It was absolutely inevitable that the Iranians would seek to lash out, to widen the conflict … but all they’ve really done is made everybody quite mad and that was a really bad calculation on their part,» said Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Peter Doran, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democraices, noted the shift in regional alignment.

«It would have been unbelievable just one year ago to see Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states lining up with the United States and Israel against the Islamic Republic,» he said.

This map shows the targets of Iran’s retaliatory strikes. (Fox News)

Hegseth dismissed suggestions that the war is spiraling outward, arguing that Iran’s actions are instead clarifying the battlefield and strengthening U.S. partnerships.

«This idea that it’s expanding or going — no,» he said. «It’s actually simplifying in a number of ways exactly what we need to achieve and how we’ll achieve it.»

Pentagon officials say U.S. bombers have struck nearly 200 targets in the past 72 hours, destroyed more than 30 Iranian naval vessels and significantly reduced missile and drone attacks since the opening days of the operation.

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Officials maintain that the campaign’s objectives remain limited to degrading Iran’s ability to threaten Americans and its neighbors, even as the president has suggested he needs to have a say in who becomes Iran’s next leader.

«I think the president’s having a heck of a say in who runs Iran, given the ongoing operation we have,» Hegseth said.

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