Roberta S. Jacobson: “This is not a U.S.-Venezuela issue, it is an internal Venezuelan issue.”

It is very important that we work with countries on improving their mechanisms for transparency, for openness, and for anticorruption measures.

the central goal that we have is to help Venezuelans move their country toward democracy, toward respect for human rights.

There is nothing in the policy that we undertook that was not something done in our national interest.

The greatest progress so far is just the acceptance by both sides that we do want diplomatic relations.