US embassy officials said Thursday that the US State Department plans to work with Congress to provide $57 million in funding to a renowned Venezuelan music institution.
The funds will help Fundacion Musical Simon Bolivar, better known as El Sistema, complete a teacher training centre and support associated cultural and educational programmes, according to a US embassy statement, reports AFP.
Founded in 1975, El Sistema is a hub for music and arts education in Venezuela, which has declined in recent years due to a lack of investment.
The US State Department “is proud to help revitalise and reinvigorate this key cultural institution”, the statement said, as part of the Trump administration’s “commitment to Venezuela’s long-term recovery and economic stabilisation”.
After years of strained relations and stringent economic sanctions, the US is now working with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, who took office in January following the capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro in a US military operation.
Rodriguez is governing Venezuela amid strong pressure from Washington, which has urged her administration to implement economic reforms and open the country’s oil sector.
Venezuela was recently hit by two earthquakes that destroyed entire neighbourhoods and killed more than 2,000 people. Following the disaster, the US pledged $300 million in aid.
