CARACAS, VENEZUELA—U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deliveredremarks today alongside Interim President Delcy Rodriguez after meetings at the Miraflores Palace in Caracas.
Secretary Wright’s full remarks are below:
Thank you so much, Interim President Rodriguez. It is an honor to stand here with you today, and to be among the tremendous people of Venezuela. As Interim President Rodriguez mentioned, our countries share a long history. It has gone through different chapters as all relationships do.
But today, I bring a message from President Trump: He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela. This is part of a broader agenda to make the Americas great again, to bring our countries closer together, and to bring commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, and opportunity to the people of Venezuela in partnership with the United States. These are not just words or ambitions. We have very specific plans and very specific actions already.
This is President Trump’s broader agenda: peace, commerce, and trade, not conflict, not military action, not what has dominated so much of our world. Whether it’s in the Middle East, whether it’s in South Asia, or maybe, most importantly, in the Americas, we want commerce, we want peace, we want prosperity, we want security.
Our government in Washington, DC, has been working 7 days a week to issue licenses, so existing businesses in Venezuela, new businesses that want to enter Venezuela, Venezuelan national companies can buy products, invest money, raise oil production, create new jobs, grow export revenue. All of the things that have constricted the Venezuelan economy, we want to set the Venezuelan people and the economy free.
We had very wonderful and candid dialogues today. We both spoke very candidly about the tremendous opportunities in front of us, and some of the problems and challenges, and we committed to work together to solve those problems and challenges. And I believe that we can solve those problems and challenges and move on to the tremendous opportunities in front of us.
So there’s much talk, and we discussed it today, of the enormous natural resources in Venezuela. Oil, natural gas, mining, minerals, they are indeed immense. But more important than those natural resources is the incredible humans, what Venezuelans are, their pride, their education, their passion to drive forward. Truly, this is a partnership between American hearts and minds and Venezuelan hearts and minds.
We believe, in fact I can say, I think we know that working together, the people of Venezuela and the people of the United States, this year, we can drive a dramatic increase in Venezuelan oil production, in Venezuelan natural gas production, in Venezuelan electricity production, and most importantly of all, all of these are to increase the job opportunities, the wages, and the quality of life for all of the Venezuelans across the country. By doing that, it will also enormously benefit the United States and the Western Hemisphere, and the future partnership for all of us.
Viva Venezuela, y viva los Estados Unidos!
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