Trump, Venezuela's Rodriguez to Meet at UN as Oil Talks Advance
Trump and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez will hold their first meeting since Nicolas Maduro's capture, as her delegation pursues energy and debt talks.
US President Donald Trump is set to meet Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday evening on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking their first encounter since American forces captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid.
The pull-aside is scheduled for 7:40 p.m. local time during a reception hosted by Trump. Rodriguez, who served as Maduro's vice president, is making her first trip to the United States since assuming office and is expected to address the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.
Her delegation, which includes the vice president of economy, the oil minister and officials from state oil company PDVSA, has been holding talks on energy, mining and debt with US officials, multilateral lenders and companies, according to people familiar with the matter. Those close to the delegation said the focus is on presenting the country as "investable."
Trump has said he wants $100 billion in investment to flow into Venezuela's oil industry, and in his own address to the General Assembly on Tuesday morning he described Maduro as an "outlaw dictator." He said hundreds of political prisoners had been freed since the raid and cited the operation as evidence that Washington would use its military power to protect its interests in the Western Hemisphere, calling an oil deal signed with Caracas last month "perhaps the biggest deal ever made."
The head of the Inter-American Development Bank is working to secure approval for a $2.5 billion loan for Venezuela but has encountered resistance from some members of the lender's board.
Earlier on Tuesday, more than 50 demonstrators gathered outside the UN to protest Rodriguez's presence, waving Venezuelan flags and carrying signs reading "No Vote No Oil" and "New Face, Same Regime." Many called on Trump to press for free elections in the South American country.
The protesters sang the Venezuelan national anthem and chanted a slogan referencing the Brooklyn jail where Maduro is being held pending trial on drug trafficking charges. Miguel Eduardo Martinez, a 34-year-old social media manager who left Caracas in 2017, said it was outrageous to see part of the government meeting US authorities, but added that the current administration had brought the country closer to freedom. Cesar Coello, carrying a sign depicting Rodriguez in an orange jumpsuit, said she had been part of the Chavista movement for more than 20 years and was complicit in it. He said he hoped the two leaders would discuss holding elections soon.
Critics say Washington has sidelined the opposition led by Maria Corina Machado, dropping demands for free elections in favor of oil and investment deals with the interim government.