Venezuela & Chile Restore Consular Relations, Two Years After Kast’s Predecessor Broke Them

CARACAS — Venezuela and Chile announced on Thursday that they have agreed to reactivate consular relations, the first concrete step in what both governments are calling a roadmap toward the full normalization of bilateral ties, exactly 731 days after Chile shut down its embassy in Caracas.

New Era

In a joint statement, the government of acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and that of Chilean President José Antonio Kast said they were launching “a roadmap for the progressive normalization of their bilateral relations.”

As a first stage, both countries agreed to reactivate consular relations specifically, describing it as an initial step toward the “full resumption” of bilateral ties, intended to guarantee protection and consular services for their citizens living in each other’s countries.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia published the communiqué on social media, framing the move as resting on “the historic ties of friendship and Latin American solidarity” between the two nations since their founding as republics.

Speaking from La Moneda, Chile’s presidential palace, President Kast thanked his foreign ministry team for what he called a methodical process that produced “this transcendent agreement,” and specifically credited “the willingness of the Venezuelan government” and acting President Rodríguez for advancing the joint roadmap.

Kast described the moment as opening a “new stage” allowing the two countries to make progress on shared challenges in security, migration, and economic development.

“Today is a good day for Chile, and a good day for Venezuela,” he said.

Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna added that the process would proceed through constructive dialogue under the norms of international law.

A Rupture Two Years in the Making

Chile severed relations with Venezuela on July 29, 2024, closing its embassy in Caracas in the aftermath of Venezuela’s disputed presidential election that year, which Maduro’s government claimed to have won amid widespread allegations of fraud — allegations that later became central to the case Nicolás Maduro now faces in U.S. federal court. The rupture, notably, occurred under Chile’s previous, left-leaning president, Gabriel Boric, making Thursday’s restoration under his conservative successor Kast a striking reversal that cuts across the usual left-right diplomatic alignment on Venezuela.

The break carried a specific practical consequence beyond the symbolic: it eliminated the direct air connection between Santiago and Caracas, which in turn complicated Chile’s ability to carry out deportations of Venezuelan migrants in irregular status back to their home country.

What Prompted the Thaw

Chile’s Deputy Interior Minister, Máximo Pavez, said just a week before Thursday’s announcement that support Santiago had extended to Caracas following the devastating double earthquake of June 24 had enabled “more fluid” communication to develop between the two governments — suggesting the disaster response served as a practical bridge that helped restart a diplomatic relationship broken over the election dispute.

Part of a Broader Pattern for Rodríguez’s Government

The Chile announcement is not an isolated diplomatic move. Rodríguez’s government recently announced a similarly progressive process aimed at fully resuming relations with Peru, also broken roughly two years ago.

Together, these developments suggest Rodríguez is actively working to rebuild Venezuela’s regional diplomatic standing on multiple fronts simultaneously, even as the core question of the country’s own political transition — including whether and when new presidential elections will actually take place — remains unresolved.

What Now

Thursday’s agreement covers consular relations only — a narrower, more technical form of engagement than the full restoration of embassies and ambassador-level diplomatic relations.

Neither government laid out a specific timeline for when, or whether, that fuller normalization might follow. For now, the practical effect will likely be felt most immediately by Venezuelan and Chilean citizens in each other's countries, who should regain access to consular services that have been unavailable since the 2024 rupture, alongside the eventual restoration of direct flights between the two capitals.