Caracas, Venezuela - American embassy officials said Thursday 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 center and support associated cultural educational programming, a US embassy statement said.
El Sistema, founded in 1975, is a hub for music and arts education in the Latin American nation, which has declined in recent years due to a lack of investment.
The US State Department "is proud to help revitalize 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 stabilization."
After years of hostility and tough economic sanctions, the US is working with Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed power in January after the capture of former leader Nicolas Maduro in a US military operation.
Rodriguez runs Venezuela under strong pressure from Washington, which has pushed the government to undertake economic reforms and open up the oil industry.
Venezuela was recently rocked by twin earthquakes that flattened entire neighborhoods, killing more than 2,000 people – after which the US pledged $300 million in aid.