Throughout his life, from a poor home in Paris through night-school classes in economics to his pre-Brussels spell as France's minister of finance, he has been apragmatist who has got things done.
U.S. diplomatic officials view Maduro as apragmatist and the fact that he was supportive of initiating closer ties with the United States last year suggests that this could continue, especially in light of Venezuela's economic troubles and the need to increase revenues through trade.