By Eduard Ribas i Admetlla
New York, US, Sep 23 (EFE).- United States President Donald Trump and Venezuelan interim leader Delcy Rodríguez met Tuesday in New York, publicly underscoring a new alliance between Washington and Caracas months after US forces captured and deposed former leader Nicolas Maduro (2013-2026).
Trump received Rodriguez at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during a reception for foreign leaders attending the UN General Assembly’s high-level week. The meeting, which would have been unthinkable months ago when the two countries had severed diplomatic relations, was closed to the press.
Both governments, however, released photographs of Trump and Rodríguez smiling together, highlighting the dramatic shift in relations.
“We held a historic meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with whom we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship,” Rodriguez wrote on social media.
Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president before taking power and aligning herself with Washington, is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday as she seeks to strengthen her government’s international legitimacy.
The meeting came shortly after a controversial oil agreement that would give the United States access to a portion of Venezuela’s vast crude reserves. It also took place just miles from the New York prison where Maduro remains incarcerated on drug-trafficking charges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also attended the meeting.
It was the first meeting between a US president and a Venezuelan leader in over 11 years. Obama and Maduro held a brief encounter at the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama.
Trump has repeatedly described the Jan. 3 US operation that captured Maduro as a success and has highlighted the potential energy benefits for the United States.
In his UN address Tuesday, Trump cited the Venezuela operation as a warning to Latin American governments that Washington would use its military might to defend US interests in the region.
Rodriguez was in the audience as Trump called Maduro a “dictator and criminal” and said the United States was entitled to the “spoils” of its action in Venezuela, referring to the country’s oil.
The oil agreement has drawn criticism from groups that accuse the Trump administration of prioritizing access to Venezuelan crude over efforts to promote democratic change.
Meanwhile, opposition leader María Corina Machado remained in Panama after her team said she had been prevented three times this week from returning to Venezuela.
Machado, who has been outside the country since December 2025, says the Venezuelan government closes its airspace whenever she attempts to return. She has explored several routes, including by sea and through nearby Caribbean islands.
Machado also gave Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal in an effort to avoid being excluded from Venezuela’s political transition.
Her continued absence underscores the uncertainty surrounding the country’s opposition as Rodríguez consolidates ties with Washington. EFE
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