Top Venezuelan Official Says US Embassy Talks Look to Secure Maduro's Return: 'That's the Fundamental Objective'

Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said that Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were "kidnapped" during a U.S. military operation earlier this month, and that efforts to reopen diplomatic missions between Caracas and Washington are primarily aimed at ensuring their safety and return.

"Progress is being made on the reopening of the embassies of Venezuela in the United States and the United States in Venezuela," Cabello said during a press conference of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), broadcast on state television, adding that the move would allow Venezuela to restore consular representation to "look after the security and peace of mind of our President Nicolás Maduro and of Cilia in the United States."

"That is the fundamental objective," he concluded

Cabello said Venezuela currently has no diplomatic personnel in the United States who can assist Maduro and Flores, aside from legal counsel who, he noted, are not Venezuelan nationals. He said reopening the embassies would make it possible to monitor their health and condition while also advancing relations with Washington.

His remarks followed the arrival in Caracas on Friday of a senior U.S. diplomat, marking the first visit by an American official since Maduro was captured and taken to the United States. John McNamara, the chargé d'affaires of the U.S. External Office for Venezuela and ambassador to Colombia, traveled to the Venezuelan capital as part of what both governments described as an initial assessment toward reopening diplomatic missions.

Venezuela's interim government said the visit was intended to evaluate the technical and logistical conditions for a gradual reopening of the U.S. embassy in Caracas, which has been closed since 2019. Venezuelan officials said a reciprocal visit by their own diplomatic delegation to the United States would take place at a later date.

Cabello's remarks come amid reports that the Trump administration has warned him to support Rodríguez's interim government or face potential action.

The U.S. embassy in Caracas closed in 2019 after Maduro severed diplomatic relations with Washington, with U.S. affairs since handled from Bogotá.