MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US/Venezuela address after-election “new reality”

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro met U.S. ambassador William Brownfield, seeking to ease years of diplomatic tension as President Hugo Chavez prepares to begin a second, six-year term.

Maduro, who described last night's meeting as ''frank, clear and cordial", said U.S. acceptance of Chavez's election victory and what he called a ''new reality" of populist leadership in Latin America marks a ''historic step". Stronger ties may lead to talks on security and extradition issues in January, he said. The U.S. ''recognizes that Venezuela isn't a threat to the region," Maduro told reporters in Caracas. ''We have the capacity and maturity to sit in a respectful manner and seek mechanisms of dialogue and exchange." Chavez, re-elected on Dec. 3 with 63 percent of the vote, has signaled he may give his anti-American rhetoric a rest as he consolidates plans for a new term. In the past, he has called President George W. Bush "the devil" and ''Mr. Danger," often criticizing the U.S. for intervening abroad, failing to condemn a 2002 coup against him and refusing to extradite alleged anti- Castro terrorist Luis Posada Carrilles to Venezuela. The U.S. in May canceled arms sales to Caracas, saying Chavez had not done enough to help in its own war on terrorism. U.S. officials in September mistakenly detained Maduro at New York's John F. Kennedy airport after he used cash to buy a one- way ticket home from a United Nations summit. Chavez denounced the detention as ''disrespectful." Still, trade between the U.S. and Venezuela, the fourth- largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S., continues to soar. This year, trade between the two countries could increase 25 percent to $50 billion from 2005, Brownfield said in October. ''Both governments see they have an interest in resolving some questions and improving the process of communication," Brownfield said last night. ''You have to walk before you can run, and we're going to start with little steps and move ahead."