CARACAS - Ties with the United States must be based on mutual respect, Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez reiterated on Thursday.

"Today, the new diplomatic representative of the United States arrived in Venezuela, and we hope to continue our work agenda, an agenda that must be based on respect," Rodriguez said as she led a massive rally in western Lara state as part of the "Great National Pilgrimage for a Venezuela Without Sanctions and in Peace".

The "Great National Pilgrimage", convened by Rodriguez to demand an end to the sanctions and advocate for peace, was launched across the country on Sunday and will conclude on May 1 with a rally in Caracas. 

New US envoy John Barrett landed in Caracas on Thursday to push forward Washington's plan for Venezuela's transition after President Nicolas Maduro was seized in a US military operation.

Rodriguez called for an end to the increasingly restrictive sanctions the United States has imposed on Venezuela over the years, saying all of them must be lifted.

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Despite the sanctions, the Venezuelan government and its people have succeeded in boosting production and strengthening the country's capabilities, Rodriguez noted.

In the same spirit, she said the nation's various political and social sectors should reflect and work together to prevent a repeat of the Jan 3 US military intervention that led to the forcible seizure of Maduro.

"May missiles and bombs never again fall on our territory," Rodriguez said.

'Venezuelans fall victim to US sanctions'

At the "Great National Pilgrimage" rallies in Monagas state on Thursday, Education Minister Hector Rodriguez said Venezuelans have fallen victim to US sanctions.

"The vast majority of Venezuelans do not want to continue in a useless confrontation," the minister said, calling on the country's social and political groups to unite in demanding the sanctions be lifted.

He noted that oil-sector sanctions have cut crude export revenues, adding that "the ingenuity of the Venezuelan people" has helped the country overcome the hardest times.

"We've moved past that critical point of empty shelves and minimal income," he said.