U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed interest in improving relations with Venezuela. Speaking at a meeting of the Council of the Americas in Washington, Kerry recognized that relations between the two countries have been strained in recent years, but says that the United States is “open to further addressing our differences and attempting to find areas of common ground.” He mentioned the brief encounter between presidents Barack Obama and Nicolas Maduro at the Summit of the Americas and said that the U.S. policy towards Cuba has backfired, leaving the United States isolated. He also commented on the move towards building self-sustainability and democracy in Latin America without giving credit to the countries who are taking the lead in this process. Jorge Gestoso reports from Washington for teleSUR.