Washington to provide $57 million to Venezuelan Institute of Music, defunct since 1975

U.S. Embassy officials said on Thursday that the State Department intends to work with Congress to provide $57 million in funding to a prestigious Venezuelan music institution.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy said the funds would help the Simon Bolivar Musical Foundation, known as El Sistema, complete a teacher training center and support educational and cultural programs associated with it.

Founded in 1975, El Sistema is a center for music and arts education in Venezuela, but its activities have declined in recent years due to a lack of investment.

The statement said the U.S. State Department is “proud to contribute to revitalizing and reinvigorating this important cultural institution” as part of “the Trump administration’s commitment to Venezuela’s long-term recovery and economic stabilization.”

After years of hostility and strict economic sanctions, the United States is now working with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed power in January following the arrest of former President Nicolas Maduro in a U.S. military operation in Caracas.