CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela and the Dominican Republic agreed Sunday to work toward restoring relations severed two years ago when the latter joined an international chorus of complaints that Nicolas Maduro’s claimed presidential reelection was fraudulent.

The two countries have now agreed on a road map for talks on “gradual normalisation” of their diplomatic ties, the Venezuelan foreign ministry said in a statement.

Maduro, a leftist criticised as a harsh autocrat who oversaw the collapse of oil-rich Venezuela’s economy, was toppled and arrested by US forces in early January and whisked off to New York with his wife for trial on drug trafficking charges.

The former bus driver hand-picked by Hugo Chavez to succeed him claimed victory in presidential elections in 2024 and a mandate for a third term, even though the then US-backed opposition released voting tally sheets showing its candidate Edmundo Gonzalez had scored a landslide victory.

The Dominican Republic joined many other countries in questioning the results, and Venezuela reacted angrily by severing ties between the two countries.

After ousting Maduro the Trump administration let vice president Delcy Rodriguez stay on as acting president but with a stern warning to open the country up to US companies hungry to profit from its oil, minerals and other resources.

As Rodriguez moved to end her country’s international isolation, Caracas and Santo Domingo agreed in February to restore flights between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, as well as consular services.

Now they have agreed to work toward full restoration of diplomatic relations, according to Venezuela’s foreign ministry.

“This decision responds to the shared interest of strengthening institutional channels of communication to benefit people of both countries,” it said.

In the past two weeks Venezuela also agreed to work toward restoring ties with Peru and Chile which had also been severed in 2024 after the election outcry.