Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon

Washington -- The United States welcomes recent offers from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to improve relations, which U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon says are rooted in longstanding historical and commercial ties.

“We would like to explore this diplomatic opening,” Shannon told a congressional panel July 17. “We remain committed to a positive relationship with the people of Venezuela and have the patience and the persistence necessary to manage our challenging relationship.”

A leading supplier of oil to the United States, Chávez also has moved his country away from its historically close ties with the United States, directing harsh rhetoric northward while moving closer to Cuba, Iran and, more worrying to U.S. policymakers, terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

“The government of Venezuela’s unrelenting anti-American rhetoric and the absolute control exercised by President Chávez over all aspects of our relationship have prevented, until recently, even the most tentative exploration of dialogue,” Shannon said.

The FARC’s longstanding insurgency against Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia as well as its well-known links to international cocaine trafficking makes Venezuela’s decision to end established counternarcotics and other security partnerships a concern not only to the United States, but to the broader region and the international community as a whole.

Washington has responded by declaring Venezuela to be “not fully cooperating” in the fight against terrorism and failing to meet counternarcotics obligations, which blocks Venezuela’s access to U.S. military equipment and financial assistance.

Yet despite their differences, the two countries share ties extending back to their respective wars of independence, Shannon said, highlighting the role of Venezuelan founding father Francisco Miranda and American volunteers who joined Miranda and South American liberator Simon Bolivar. The countries also enjoy close and growing trade ties, Shannon said, as well as close connections in the realms of sports and culture that transcend political barriers.

Venezuela’s behavior has raised concerns across the region, Shannon said, which further have been compounded by unfolding revelations about the extent of the Chávez government’s ties with the FARC.

Meanwhile, domestic setbacks to Chávez’ agenda, including the recent popular rejection of a proposed Cuban-style surveillance law, may be among considerations behind a proposal to restart cooperation against drug trafficking.

“Cooperation in the counterdrug fight would be familiar ground for both governments, and would be well received in the region,” Shannon said.

“I think we have to determine whether or not this offer is a serious one,” Shannon added. “We have to engage and make clear that we are prepared to sit down and look at how we can improve our counterdrug cooperation in order to determine whether or not this is just a ploy to diffuse some internal problems … or whether or not it really is reflective of a recognition that drug trafficking poses a significant internal security threat to Venezuela.”

See the complete text of Shannon's prepared testimony.