The foreign relations of Venezuela had since the early twentieth century been particularly strong with the United States. However, since the election of Hugo Chávez as President of Venezuela in 1998, Venezuela's foreign policy differed substantially from that of previous Venezuelan governments. This change in foreign policy direction no longer continues during the tenure of President Delcy Rodríguez.
Diplomatic relations List of countries which Venezuela maintains diplomatic relations with: #CountryDate12— (suspended)345678910111213141516171819—2021— (suspended)— (suspended)2223— (suspended)24— (suspended)252627282930313233343536373839404142— (suspended)4344454647484950515253545556575859606162636465666768—69707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899—100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171—172——173174175176177178
Bilateral relations
Africa Country Formal Relations BeganNotes
Americas Country Formal Relations BeganNotesIn June 2009 Antigua and Barbuda became a formal member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) international cooperation organization and the Caribbean oil alliance Petrocaribe. In 2009 Antigua and Barbuda received US$50 million from Venezuela because of the country's membership in this alliance. After American billionaire Allen Stanford's banks failed, Chávez sent financial assistance to Antigua and Barbuda, which was dependent on Stanford's investment when his business empire collapsed. US$1.4 billion was traded between Argentina and Venezuela during 2008. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez met Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Caracas on 11 August 2009. Kirchner called it a "bilateral meeting [...] aimed at deepening our vital integration." The two presidents signed deals intended to see Venezuela import leather, machinery and poultry from Argentina, whilst a rice importation agreement was described by the Argentine President as "the biggest ever in Argentina's history". The deals were said to be worth $1.1 billion. The meeting coincided with visits to Venezuela by dozens of Argentine businessmen.
Both embassies were closed in July 2024.
In 2001 Venezuela and Brazil opened a high-voltage power line between the two countries to supply electricity from Venezuela to energy-starved northern Brazil. The line provides cheap hydro-electric power to Brazil and also earns Venezuela tens of millions of dollars every year.
In 2007 Brazil and Venezuela pledged closer trade and energy ties, including building a new oil refinery in Brazil. The $4.5bn refinery scheme to be completed in 2010 will be 40%-owned by Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA, while Brazil's national oil firm Petrobras will hold the rest.
Venezuela purchased 1,500 tonnes of coffee beans from Brazil on 10 August 2009 after falling out with Colombia over its decision to allow an increased United States presence in its military bases.
On 18 June 2015, a mission of Brazilian senators led by Sen. Aécio Neves (mostly composed by opposition legislatives to Pres. Dilma Rousseff) flew to Caracas with interest to visit Venezuelan prisoner Leopoldo López and families of victims of the protests against President Nicolás Maduro. About a kilometer away from the Simón Bolívar International Airport, the vehicle carrying the senators was prevented to continue the trip after being stopped and surrounded by government protesters. Finally, the Brazilian senators decided to return to Brazil on the same day. The legislative houses Câmara dos Deputados and Senado Federal of Brazil issued motions of rejection to such events. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil issued an Official Note expressing his annoyance with the "unacceptable hostile acts" that occurred that day and asking for official explanations from the Government of Venezuela.
During the Brazilian government of President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), Brazil cut off diplomatic relations with the current Venezuelan leftwing and disputed government of president Nicolás Maduro. Brazil downgraded its diplomatic relations with the ruling Venezuelan government. Brazil recognised Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the legitimate President of Venezuela. In April 2020, Brazil closed its embassy in Venezuela. in 2022, relations were re-established before the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Venezuela and Canada have had diplomatic relations since January 1953. The relations between the two countries have been based on mutual commercial interests; especially in technology, oil and gas industry, telecommunications and others.
Venezuela is Canada's second largest export market in South America for goods as well as for services.The Canadian Embassy in Venezuela –The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service in Caracas Accessed 18 December 2007 In 2006, goods exports from Canada increased by 14% and the cumulative stock of Canadian investments in Venezuela amounted to $574 million.The Canadian Embassy in Venezuela –The Canadian Trade Commissioner Service Accessed 18 December 2007
In January 2019, Canada recognized and endorsed Juan Guaidó's position at the interim President of Venezuela. In June 2019, Canada closed its embassy in Caracas due to diplomatic visas unable to be renewed under President Maduro's government.
In the 20th century the relationship with Colombia evolved with ups and downs, mostly regarding the Colombia-Venezuela maritime territory dispute over the Gulf of Venezuela. The lowest point in the relationship occurred on 19 August 1987 after the Colombian Corvette ARC Caldas (FM-52) trespassed into disputed waters and then President of Venezuela, Jaime Lusinchi ordered the Venezuelan Air Force to the area and coerced the Colombians. The standoff was resolved through diplomatic channels but the dispute remained. Published in Power in Latin America (Issue 129/2004)
One of the main issues has been the large wave of Colombians that migrated to Venezuela in the 1970s and 1980s, working primarily in low-end jobs. Many Colombian immigrants were imprisoned in Venezuela under deplorable conditions, faced discrimination and endured human rights violations. The Colombian armed conflict has also provoked impasses between the two countries. Military illegal incursions by the two countries' military forces into each other's territory have been frequent since the conflict in Colombia escalated in the 1980s, which subsequently triggered forced displacements in Colombia and into Venezuela. Illegally armed groups also trespassed into Venezuela to commit crimes. Contraband flows from one territory to another depending on supply and demand along the shared porous border of . Illegal products range from gasoline, drugs and weapons to stolen cars. Since 2002, the relationship between Colombia and Venezuela has fluctuated due to the ideological differences that separate Hugo Chávez and Álvaro Uribe. The relationship between the two countries once again reached a low point in November 2007 after a failed effort to achieve a humanitarian exchange, causing the relations to freeze.
Following the revelation in 2009 that Colombia wanted to allow the United States to use it military bases, relations between Colombia and Venezuela soured, with Venezuela opting to shop in countries such as Argentina and Brazil. Trade between the two countries was worth $7 billion in 2008. In August 2009 Venezuela recalled an envoy from Bogotá over accusations Venezuela had provided arms to Colombian rebels, halted the import of Colombian cars and banned a Colombian energy firm from Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco region.
In 2010 the 2010 Colombia-Venezuela diplomatic crisis saw Colombia and Venezuela recall their ambassadors amid allegations by Colombia that Venezuela was actively permitting and supporting FARC/ELN camps on its side of the border. Assisted by UNASUR mediation, the crisis was resolved shortly after the inauguration of new Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. Santos made efforts to repair his relationship with Chávez in the months following taking office.
In February 2019, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro cut off diplomatic ties with Colombia, after the failed shipping of humanitarian aid to Venezuela that year. Following the election of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the two countries restored diplomatic ties in August 2022.
Relations between Cuba and Venezuela have significantly improved during the Presidency of Hugo Chávez. Chávez formed a major alliance with Cuba's leadership and significant trade relationship with Cuba since his election in 1999. Chávez described Cuban President Fidel Castro as his mentor and called Cuba "a revolutionary democracy".
The bilateral relation includes development aid, joint business ventures, large financial transactions, exchange of energy resources (for example discounted Venezuelan oil in exchange for Cuban doctors) and information technology, and cooperation in the fields of intelligence service and military. Both nations are delivering assets which are inexpensive for the sending country but of high significance for the receiving country. (suspended) El Salvador has an embassy in Caracas. Venezuela has an embassy in San Salvador. In November 2019, the Venezuelan government expelled El Salvador's diplomats in a reciprocal move after El Salvador had expelled Venezuelan diplomats. (suspended) In 2020, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei announced it would sever ties with Venezuela, prompting to close its embassy both in Caracas and Guatemala City, following the ongoing presidential crisis.
There is a long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries over the area of Orinoco basin. Venezuela claimed more than half of the territory of the British colony of Guyana at the time of the Latin American wars of independence, a dispute that was settled by arbitration in 1899. In 1962 Venezuela declared that it would no longer abide by the arbitration decision, which ceded mineral-rich territory in the Orinoco basin to Guyana. The area is called "Guayana Esequiba" by Venezuela. A border commission was set up in 1966 with representatives from Guyana, Venezuela and Great Britain, but failed to reach agreement. Venezuela vetoed Guyana's bid to become a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1967. In 1969 Venezuela backed an abortive uprising in the disputed area.
Under intense diplomatic pressure, Venezuela agreed in 1970 to a 12-year moratorium on the dispute with the Protocol of Port-of-Spain. In 1981, Venezuela refused to renew the protocol. However, with changes to the governments of both countries relations improved, to the extent that in 1990 Venezuela sponsored Guyana's bid for OAS membership.
Historically the two countries have had good diplomatic relations. Ever since both countries became important players in the oil industry, some competitive tensions arose, eventually leading to disputes after Mexico signed an agreement to join NAFTA. During President Vicente Fox's term in the early 2000s, ties between the two countries became critically strained to the point of recalling one another's ambassadors. It has been clear that diplomatic relations between both countries are not indefinitely severed, in recent years numerous groups and organizations, both in holistic and in land are working to restore the diplomatic relationship between the two countries, as they are of strategic economic and cultural importance within the region. In August 2007, after two years of diplomatic absence in either country, normal relations were re-established with the appointment of former foreign minister Roy Chaderton as Venezuela's envoy in Mexico City and the transfer of Jesús Mario Chacón Carrillo, formerly Mexican ambassador to Colombia, to Caracas.