Adedokun Waliyu 
Venezuela’s interim president is set to visit the United States, a senior US official confirmed on Wednesday, signalling a major shift in relations between Washington and Caracas and highlighting President Donald Trump’s willingness to engage with the oil-rich nation’s new leadership. Delcy Rodriguez would become the first sitting Venezuelan president to visit the US in more than 25 years, aside from leaders attending United Nations meetings in New York.
Rodriguez said she was approaching dialogue with the United States “without fear,” stressing that diplomacy was the preferred path for addressing differences between the two countries. She described the ongoing talks as an opportunity to confront longstanding challenges through engagement rather than confrontation.
The planned visit reflects a dramatic turnaround in bilateral relations following the arrest of former president Nicolas Maduro, who was seized in Caracas by US Delta Force operatives and taken to the United States to face narcotrafficking charges. Rodriguez, a former vice president and long-time insider in Venezuela’s previously anti-American government, shifted course after assuming the role of interim president, although she remains under US sanctions, including an asset freeze.
Since taking office, Rodriguez has begun reshaping the country’s military leadership, appointing 12 senior officers to regional commands. With US warships still stationed off Venezuela’s coast, her administration has allowed Washington to broker Venezuelan oil sales, encouraged foreign investment, and released dozens of political prisoners. A senior White House official said the visit would take place soon, though no specific date has been announced.
The last official bilateral visit by a Venezuelan president occurred in the 1990s, before Hugo Chavez rose to power and ushered in years of hostility toward the United States and closer ties with countries such as China, Cuba, Iran, and Russia. Analysts warn that Rodriguez’s outreach to Washington could create internal tensions, as hardliners within the government remain deeply suspicious of US intentions.
Powerful figures such as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez continue to wield significant influence, and their full support for Rodriguez is not guaranteed. Cabello denied reports that he had met with US officials before Maduro’s removal, dismissing the claims as a political smear.
President Trump has so far appeared content to allow Rodriguez and much of the existing power structure to remain in place, provided the United States gains access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest proven in the world. Earlier this month, Trump hosted exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado at the White House, later saying he would welcome her involvement in Venezuela’s future.
Machado’s party is widely believed to have won the disputed 2024 elections that Washington says were stolen by Maduro. Analysts suggest Trump’s cautious approach toward regime change stems from a desire to avoid repeating the mistakes of past US interventions, such as the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
However, Trump’s stance has drawn criticism from democracy activists, who insist that all political prisoners must be freed, granted amnesty, and that Venezuela must hold fresh, credible elections before true democratic progress can be achieved.
