Venezuela’s Interim President set for historic U.S. visit amid shift in relations

Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodriguez, is set to visit the United States in a development that signals a major thaw in relations between Washington and Caracas, a senior U.S. official confirmed on Wednesday.

If it goes ahead, Rodriguez would be the first sitting Venezuelan president to visit the United States in over 25 years, excluding trips for United Nations engagements in New York.

Speaking on Wednesday, Rodriguez said she approached the talks with the U.S. “without fear,” adding:
“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.”

The planned visit marks a dramatic shift in U.S.–Venezuelan relations following a controversial operation in which U.S. Delta Force operatives captured President Nicolas Maduro and took him to the United States to face narcotrafficking charges.

Rodriguez, a former vice president and long-time insider in Venezuela’s previous administration, assumed the interim presidency and has since embarked on a series of bold moves, including reorganising the military leadership by appointing 12 senior officers to regional commands.

Under her watch, the United States has brokered oil sales, facilitated foreign investment, and seen the release of dozens of political prisoners. A flotilla of U.S. warships remains off the Venezuelan coast, underscoring the strategic importance of these developments.

Domestic Challenges

Despite the overtures to Washington, Rodriguez faces internal opposition from hardliners within her government. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez continue to wield significant influence, and analysts note that their support for the interim president is not assured.

Cabello dismissed rumours of meetings with U.S. officials, saying on state television:
“It’s a campaign. They say, ‘Diosdado met with the United States’…I haven’t met with anyone.”

U.S. Calculations and Oil Interests

President Donald Trump has signalled willingness to tolerate Rodriguez’s administration, prioritising access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest proven in the world. Earlier this month, Trump hosted exiled opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado at the White House and indicated openness to her participation in Venezuela’s future governance.

Analysts suggest Trump’s approach, which avoids wholesale regime change, reflects lessons from past interventions, such as in Iraq. Benigno Alarcon, a political expert at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas, said:
“Those kinds of intervention operations — and the deployment of troops for stabilisation — have always ended very badly.”

Nonetheless, the policy has drawn criticism from democracy activists, who demand full release of political prisoners, amnesty, and credible elections.

The date for Rodriguez’s U.S. visit has not been officially set, but the announcement underscores a remarkable shift in hemispheric diplomacy after decades of tension between the two nations.