Oil, coffee, cereals: the boom in trade between Venezuela and the United States since Maduros fall

Commercial exchanges between the United States and Venezuela increased by nearly 23% in the first quarter, driven by Venezuelan crude oil exports after the resumption of commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Relations between Caracas and Washington have been normalizing since the capture of Nicolas Maduro in January by the American army. According to the report from the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Venamcham), commercial exchanges between the two countries reached around 3.3 billion dollars (2.8 billion euros) in the first quarter, compared to 2.7 billion dollars (2.3 billion euros) for the same period in 2025.

The figures, from the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC), indicate that Venezuelan exports to the United States totaled 1.875 billion dollars during this period, with 97% corresponding to crude oil sales (1.810 billion dollars).

Venezuela opens up in post-Maduro era

Coffee leads non-oil exports from Venezuela to the United States, who export cereals, electrical equipment, and animal feed to the Venezuelan territory.

Delcy Rodriguez, former vice president under Nicolas Maduro who succeeded him, passed laws opening the oil and mining sectors to private capital, including foreign investors.

The United States, for its part, is gradually easing sanctions on the Venezuelan oil industry, granting numerous licenses allowing foreign companies to operate in the country.

Several oil companies, including the American giant Chevron, already present in the country, have signed agreements with Venezuela in recent months.

Trump’s controversial drawing

In the evening, Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social platform a drawing showing Venezuela in the colors of the United States with the caption ’51st State’. The Republican regularly boasts of controlling the Latin American country, after capturing ousted President Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

In March, he had already posted a message hinting at this possibility: “Good things are happening in Venezuela lately. State number 51, what do you think?”

The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, denied this possibility on Monday, stating that it had “never been considered,” because “if there is one thing that we, Venezuelan women and men, have, it’s that we love our process of independence, we love our heroes and heroines.”

She added that her government was working on “a diplomatic agenda of cooperation” with the United States, after reestablishing diplomatic relations with Washington in March, severed by Nicolas Maduro seven years ago.