In a move marking a historic turn in Washington-Caracas relations, Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, is set to visit the United States, a senior U.S. official confirmed Wednesday. If confirmed, she would be the first sitting Venezuelan leader to travel to the U.S. in over 25 years, excluding visits for United Nations meetings.
Rodriguez, a former vice president and long-time insider in Venezuela’s authoritarian government, emphasized her openness to dialogue with the United States. “We are in a process of dialogue, of working with the United States, without any fear, to confront our differences and difficulties…and to address them through diplomacy,” she said.
The planned visit comes after a dramatic shift in U.S.-Venezuelan relations following a daring operation in which U.S. Delta Force operatives captured President Nicolas Maduro and moved him to the United States on narcotrafficking charges.
Despite her new role, Rodriguez remains subject to U.S. sanctions, including an asset freeze. She has moved quickly to consolidate power, appointing 12 senior military officers to regional commands, while also allowing the U.S. to broker Venezuelan oil sales, facilitate foreign investment, and release political prisoners.
A senior White House official said a date for Rodriguez’s visit has yet to be set. The last bilateral visit by a sitting Venezuelan president occurred in the 1990s, before the rise of populist leader Hugo Chavez. Since then, Venezuelan governments have largely shunned Washington, fostering close ties with U.S. rivals such as China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia.
Rodriguez’s U.S. trip could face resistance at home, where hardliners like Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez remain influential. Cabello denied meeting with U.S. officials ahead of Maduro’s ouster, calling the reports a “campaign.”
For President Donald Trump, Rodriguez’s continued presence in power appears acceptable, provided the United States maintains access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Trump recently hosted exiled opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado at the White House, signaling a willingness to involve her in shaping Venezuela’s future.
Experts suggest Trump’s cautious approach avoids the pitfalls of past regime-change interventions, such as Iraq. “Those kinds of operations — and the deployment of troops for stabilization — have always ended very badly,” said Benigno Alarcon, a political analyst at Andres Bello Catholic University.
However, democracy activists warn that true reform in Venezuela requires the release and amnesty of all political prisoners and the holding of fresh elections.
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