Trump to Meet Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez at UN General Assembly

President Donald Trump will meet with Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez in New York City this week during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. The encounter, described as a pull-aside during a leaders' reception, marks the first face-to-face meeting between a U.S. president and a Venezuelan leader in over 11 years.

The diplomatic thaw follows a January 3 U.S. military raid in Caracas that captured former President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia. Both are currently held in a Brooklyn jail awaiting trial on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. Since Maduro's removal, the U.S. has recognized Rodríguez's government, lifted sanctions, and removed Venezuela from the list of countries failing anti-narcotics commitments.

Economic cooperation has accelerated through a historic energy agreement granting the U.S. a stake in Venezuelan oil reserves, including rights for North American Blue Energy Partners to 17 oil fields. Venezuela is also negotiating the transfer of $4 billion in gold reserves from the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as collateral for financing. While Rodríguez views the deal as a step toward economic recovery, opposition leader María Corina Machado has criticized the agreement, arguing the wealth does not belong to an "illegitimate regime."

Beyond the Venezuela meeting, Trump is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly and meet with leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss the war in Iran, as well as the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Japan.