Venezuela opens up to the world

"A month earlier, Cabello, one of Chavismo's strongmen, had dedicated part of his television program, where he usually ridicules and threatens those he considers adversaries, to the German diplomat. He said he had seen him taking it easy in Caracas and showed photos from his social media accounts of him walking around Waraira Repano, the Avila mountain that dominates the city, to mock Berlin's warning about the risks of traveling to Venezuela in the midst of escalating tensions with Washington."

"Something has shifted since the attack on January 3 and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. After years of broken relations, accusations of interference, and clashes with much of the world, Chavismo is looking outward. Venezuela is opening itself to a new political moment, one that allows for understanding despite political and ideological differences, said the country's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez."

"The speed has been surprising. In just a few days, Rodriguez activated an agenda that no one expected so soon: calls to international leaders, promises of official trips, meetings with ambassadors, and messages of reopening. There is a lot of hope that this new stage will change the paradigm and [Venezuela will] open up to the world, says a high-ranking European diplomatic source. That is why, despite everything, we continue talking."

German ambassador Volker Pellet publicly shook hands with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello at the Miraflores presidential palace after previously being mocked on Cabello's television program. Venezuela shifted from expelling diplomats to welcoming them into the presidential palace following the January 3 attack and the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Chavismo began looking outward, with interim president Delcy Rodriguez quickly activating an international agenda of calls, promised official trips, ambassador meetings, and messages of reopening. Representatives from the EU, the UK, and Switzerland traveled to Caracas nine days after the U.S. operation that arrested Maduro and his wife. European sources express hope that the new stage will change the paradigm and open Venezuela to the world.

Read at english.elpais.com