The White House confirmed this Friday that the president of the United States, Donald Trump, will meet on Tuesday in New York with the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. The historic meeting, which will be held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, will mark the first face-to-face meeting between the two and the first rapprochement of this level between the two countries in more than a decade.
The meeting with Rodríguez will close Trump’s official agenda during the UN High Level Week. That same Tuesday, the American president will speak before the General Assembly and will hold bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Japan, as well as leaders of the Persian Gulf.
Trump will attend a reception with international dignitaries before receiving Rodríguez and returning to Washington, the White House detailed in a telephone press conference.
The confirmation of the bilateral meeting comes after weeks of speculation. On Sunday, Trump himself told the press about the possibility of the meeting, while the portal Axios revealed on Thursday that both delegations finalized logistical details.
A diplomatic milestone after 11 years of distancing
The face-to-face between Trump and Rodríguez represents the first meeting between a US president and a Venezuelan head of state since April 2015, when Barack Obama and Nicolás Maduro spoke briefly during the Summit of the Americas in Panama.
Since the military operation that led to the capture and deposition of Maduro in Caracas in January, the Trump administration offered its support to the transitional government headed by Rodríguez – who served as executive vice president – and reestablished diplomatic relations, fractured since 2019.
Energy cooperation
The rapprochement between Washington and Caracas reached its highest point with the recent signing of a energy agreement which grants the United States management of a fifth of Venezuelan crude oil reserves.
However, the alliance has generated disagreements in political sectors, which question the priority given to oil interests over the push for a comprehensive democratic transition in Venezuela.
