Decade-old defunct group may be the key to better US-Venezuela ties

BOGOTA --  The 2002 snapshot shows Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro standing on a New England tarmac with his arms draped around U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-NY. At the time they were all lawmakers. Everyone’s smiling.
Despite deep economic ties, the United States and Venezuela have been at odds for years. Maduro — like his late boss Hugo Chávez — has accused the Imperio of trying to kill him and destroy his socialist reforms. The U.S. has yet to explicitly recognize that Maduro won April’s contested election and it blasts his administration on its human rights and drug record.
But behind the scenes, relationships built a decade ago during legislative exchanges, which became known as the Boston Group, seem to be bearing fruit. And that’s sparking talk of reviving the group, which has been defunct for seven years.