US, Venezuela seeking to mend ties

After more than two years of testy relations that began under former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, the United States and Venezuela on Wednesday agreed to try to mend their bitter ties.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said both countries agreed "we would like our countries to find a new way forward, establish a more positive relationship."
He was speaking after talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Elias Jaua on the sidelines of an Organization of American States meeting in Guatemala.
"We agreed today that there will be an ongoing, continuing dialogue at the high level, between the State Department and the foreign ministry, to try to set up an agenda, beginning to exchange dialogue between our two countries to ultimately" lead to the nomination of new ambassadors, Kerry told reporters.
Caracas and Washington have been operating embassies in each other's country without an ambassador since a diplomatic spat in 2010.
Washington has repeatedly sought to extend an olive branch to Caracas, even before Chavez's death from cancer in early March.
And it has long hoped that a post-Chavez era could herald a new era in ties, although initial signs from new President Nicolas Maduro -- Chavez's anointed heir -- were not good.