Italy has upgraded relations with Caracas following the release of four Italian prisoners in Venezuela, home to one of the world’s largest Italian overseas communities, Rome said Tuesday.
“Our goal is to begin a new phase” following the US ouster of long-time strongman Nicolas Maduro, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told the Senate.
To that end, Rome has promoted charge d’affaires Giovanni De Vito to ambassador, Tajani said.
Human rights groups estimate there are between 800 and 1,200 political prisoners in Venezuela — — many jailed for contesting Maduro’s 2024 re-election.\
While all four prisoners with solely Italian citizenship have been released, Tajani said there were also 42 dual- Italian-and-Venezuelan citizens still in Venezuelan prisons, 24 of whom are considered political prisoners.
“Our goal is to free them all,” Tajani said.
In 2025, Maduro ordered Italy to cut its diplomatic staff in Venezuela to just three people, making similar demands to France and the Netherlands.
“Now that the Maduro era, marked by oppression and violence, is over, our goal is to begin a new phase, a positive partnership with the authorities led by (acting president) Delcy Rodriguez,” he said.
Formerly Maduro’s vice president, Rodriguez took over after a US bombing raid on Caracas on January 3 ended with his capture and transfer to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.
Tajani said Italian companies could play a role “in key areas of recovery”, such as water resource management, infrastructure and energy.
“Our priority has always been the protection of the Italian community, one of the largest in the world”, with some 170,000 Italian citizens and over 1 million people with Italian roots, he said.
“The release of political prisoners is a strong signal that the new administration wanted to send,” Tajani said.
“We are open to embracing it with hope and building a different kind of collaboration.”
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