Venezuela’s interim president is expected to travel to the United States in the coming weeks, according to a senior US official, marking a major diplomatic shift and signalling President Donald Trump’s readiness to engage with the country’s new leadership.
If the visit goes ahead, Delcy Rodríguez would become the first serving Venezuelan head of government to make an official trip to Washington in more than 25 years, excluding appearances linked to United Nations meetings in New York.
Rodríguez confirmed on Wednesday that channels of communication with Washington were open, saying her administration was prepared to engage in dialogue without apprehension.
“We are in a process of dialogue and cooperation with the United States, without fear, to confront our differences and challenges and resolve them through diplomacy,” she said.
The planned visit underscores a dramatic change in US–Venezuela relations following the removal of former president Nicolás Maduro, who was detained and transferred to the United States to face narcotics-related charges. Since then, Washington has shown growing openness to working with Rodríguez, despite her long-standing ties to Venezuela’s former anti-US leadership.
Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president and was a key figure in the previous government, remains under US sanctions, including an asset freeze. Nevertheless, her interim administration has taken steps that appear aimed at easing tensions with Washington.
On Wednesday, she announced a reorganisation of Venezuela’s military leadership, appointing 12 senior officers to oversee regional commands. Her government has also permitted US-mediated oil sales, encouraged foreign investment, and ordered the release of dozens of political detainees, even as US naval vessels remain positioned off Venezuela’s coast.
A senior White House official confirmed that preparations for the visit were under way, although no date has been finalised.
Oil at the Centre of Rapprochement
The last official bilateral visit by a sitting Venezuelan president took place in the 1990s, before the rise of Hugo Chávez. In the decades since, Caracas has largely defined its foreign policy in opposition to Washington, forging close ties with countries such as China, Cuba, Iran and Russia.
The prospect of Rodríguez’s visit has not been formally acknowledged by Venezuelan authorities and could generate internal resistance. Analysts note that influential hardliners within the government remain deeply sceptical of US intentions.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López continue to wield significant power, and their full support for Rodríguez is uncertain. Cabello on Wednesday dismissed reports that he had held discussions with US officials prior to Maduro’s removal.
“It’s a campaign. They say, ‘Diosdado met with the United States’… I haven’t met with anyone,” he said during his weekly state television programme.
President Trump has so far signalled a willingness to work with Rodríguez and elements of the existing power structure, provided US access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves—the largest proven reserves globally—is maintained.
Earlier this month, Trump hosted exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado at the White House. After initially questioning her influence over Venezuela’s security institutions, he later said he would “love” to see her “involved in some way.”
Machado’s party is widely believed to have won Venezuela’s disputed 2024 elections, which Washington maintains were stolen by Maduro.
Political analysts suggest Trump’s approach reflects a preference for stability over sweeping regime change, shaped by lessons from past US interventions.
“Large-scale intervention operations and post-conflict stabilisation efforts have consistently ended badly,” said Benigno Alarcón, a political analyst at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.
However, Trump’s engagement with Rodríguez has drawn criticism from democracy advocates, who insist that all political prisoners must be freed, granted amnesty, and that Venezuela should organise fresh, credible elections.
