Trump Meets Venezuela’s Interim Leader at UN

United States President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez met in person for the first time on Tuesday, discussing energy, mining and security.

Rodriguez, who is due to address the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, said the meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN gathering in New York.

She described the encounter as “historic” in a post on X(formerly Twitter), which included a photograph of the two leaders smiling.

Rodriguez said they discussed strengthening relations between the United States and Venezuela and advancing cooperation in strategic areas including energy, mining and security.

Several senior US officials also attended the meeting, including Trump adviser Stephen Miller, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

Rodriguez served as vice president under former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and became interim leader after Maduro was captured in a US military raid in January.

She has since cooperated with demands from Washington, including granting the United States access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Rodriguez’s meeting with Trump comes ahead of her UN address and marks the first visit by a Venezuelan head of state to the United States for the General Assembly since Maduro’s capture.

Trump also referred to Venezuela during his UN address on Tuesday, saying the United States and Venezuela together account for more than 60 per cent of the world’s oil.

He added that “to the victor belong the spoils.”