US President Donald Trump held bilateral talks with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez during the UN General Assembly meeting. The encounter marked their first direct meeting since the White House supported Rodríguez’s ascension to lead Venezuela’s government following a US military operation that resulted in the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro.
The meeting took place near a New York correctional facility where Maduro is currently detained pending trial on drug trafficking charges and other allegations. Rodríguez’s delegation reported that the discussions centered on expanding bilateral cooperation across strategic sectors including energy production, mining operations, and security matters. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles participated in the conversation alongside Trump.
Rodríguez’s government has negotiated a significant oil agreement with the United States that grants American interests control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude reserves, representing over one-fifth of the nation’s total oil resources. The arrangement includes 100-year extraction concessions to a US-led company operating 17 oilfields throughout Venezuela. Trump previously characterized the agreement as “the biggest oil deal in world history.”
During his address to the UN earlier in the week, Trump stated that combined US and Venezuelan oil resources represent more than 60 percent of global supplies. Rodríguez was scheduled to address the General Assembly later in the week. The interim president previously held the vice-presidency under Maduro and faced US sanctions in 2018, though those restrictions were lifted in April. She assumed the interim presidency following the US military operation, having been sworn in by Venezuela’s National Assembly with White House endorsement.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado has faced repeated obstacles preventing her from returning to the country.
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