Trump meets Venezuela's Rodriguez for first time since Maduro's capture

By Luc Cohen and Marianna Parraga

NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - ‌US President Donald Trump met ​Venezuela's interim President ​Delcy Rodriguez late on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, their first meeting since American forces captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in a January raid.

The pull-aside meeting at a reception Trump hosted came during Rodriguez's first trip to the US since taking office. ‌She is set to address the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.

The Venezuelan delegation, which includes the vice president of economy, the ⁠oil minister and officials from state oil company PDVSA, is focused on making the country look "investable," two people close to the delegation told Reuters.

Rodriguez called the meeting a historic step towards strengthening ties ‌with the US in energy, mining, and security.

"Venezuela ‌and the United States share a historic relationship that, in this new phase, we are called upon to steer through dialogue," she said on messaging app Telegram after the talks.

Her administration would pursue diplomacy aimed at "concrete results and collective benefits" for Venezuelans, she added.

A White House official said the meeting with ​Rodriguez included President Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Stephen Miller, assistant to the president and deputy chief of staff for policy.

Trump has built a working relationship with Rodriguez, who served as Maduro's vice president.

But 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.

Machado, who has been in exile since late last year, made three unsuccessful attempts ​to return to Venezuela by sea and air in recent hours, her team and media said on Tuesday.

A small group of Venezuelans protested in New York, calling for elections.

In his speech to the General Assembly, Trump called Maduro an "outlaw dictator," ​said hundreds of political prisoners had been freed since his capture and held up the ‌raid as proof the US would protect its interests in the Western Hemisphere.

"To the victor belong the spoils," he said, calling an oil deal his administration signed with Caracas last month "perhaps the biggest deal ever made." Trump has said he wants $100 billion in ⁠investment to flow into Venezuela's oil industry.

Rodriguez arrived in New York on Monday with the delegation that has been holding talks on energy, mining and debt with US officials, multilateral lenders and companies, sources said.

The head of the Inter-American Development Bank is working to secure approval for a $2.5 billion loan for Venezuela but has faced pushback from some members of the lender's ⁠board.

DEMONSTRATORS DEMAND FREE ELECTIONS

More than 50 protesters waving Venezuelan flags and carrying signs reading, "No Vote, No Oil" and "New Face, Same Regime," gathered outside the UN earlier on Tuesday to protest ​Rodriguez's presence.

Many said they wanted Trump to push for free elections in the country.

They sang the Venezuelan national anthem and chanted "Delcy, I swear, you're going to Brooklyn with Maduro", referring to the federal jail in Brooklyn, just across the East River from the UN, where her predecessor is being held pending trial on drug trafficking charges.

"On one hand, it's outrageous to ‌see part of the regime meeting with the authorities of this country's current government, but there's also no doubt that thanks to this government, today we are one step closer to freedom," said Miguel Eduardo Martinez, a 34-year-old social media ‌manager who moved from Caracas in 2017.

Cesar Coello, who carried a sign depicting Rodriguez in an orange jumpsuit, said, "Delcy Rodriguez wasn't born on January 3, 2026. Delcy Rodriguez has been with ⁠the Chavista dictatorship for more than 20 years. She has been ‌complicit."

The reference was to "chavismo", the political movement founded ​by the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Coello said he hoped Trump and Rodriguez would discuss holding elections soon.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen and Marianna Parraga in New York; Additional reporting by Gram Slattery and Natalia Siniawski, Writing by Nathan Crooks; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani, Stephen Coates ‌and Clarence Fernandez)

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