Venezuela hosts Human Rights Watch after 18-year rift

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez hosted a Human Rights Watch delegation on Thursday, the government said, 18 years after Hugo Chavez expelled the group's Americas director.

The delegation was led by Human Rights Watch deputy executive director Federico Borello. Venezuela's government said the talks covered measures to foster plurality of expression and a more democratic environment, and were meant to reaffirm work with multilateral organisations.

The meeting follows political changes since Nicolas Maduro was toppled in a US military raid in January. Since taking office, Rodriguez has released hundreds of political prisoners, announced plans to close El Helicoide prison and opened Venezuela's mining, oil and electricity sectors to foreign and private capital.

The Venezuelan government also said Thursday it had unblocked some news sites that had been censored for years.

UN investigators said this week that Venezuela has maintained a "repressive apparatus" responsible for illegal detentions and disappearances, despite rights improvements since Maduro's ouster.