Venezuela’s interim President, Delcy Rodríguez, is set to visit the United States, according to a senior US official, signalling US President Donald Trump’s willingness to engage with the country’s new leadership.
However, the official did not mention the date of her visit, nor confirmed whether it has been set yet.
Rodríguez would be the first sitting president of the country to visit the United States in nearly 35 years. The last bilateral visit by a sitting Venezuelan president occurred in the 1990s – before populist leader Hugo Chávez came to power. Since then, successive governments in Caracas have distanced themselves from the US and instead forged stronger ties with China, Cuba, Iran and Russia.
On Wednesday, Rodriguez said she would be approaching dialogue with Washington officials without fear. She has had a telephonic conversation with Trump recently, which was also a first.
“We are in the middle of a dialogue, of working with the United States, without fear or reservation, to confront our differences and hindrances… and to address them through diplomacy,” she said.
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The invitation from Washington marks a major shift in bilateral relations since US’ Delta Force operatives captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a surprise pre-dawn raid on January 3 that killed nearly 83 people.
Rodríguez is a known Maduro supporter, having served as Vice President in his regime before assuming the role of the interim president.
She remains subject to US sanctions, though Washington administration’s tone towards her has noticeably softened in recent weeks.
While Trump is appreciative of Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado, whom he met recently and who gave her Nobel Peace Prize to the US President, Trump maintains that Machado does not enjoy public support.
On Wednesday, Rodríguez began restructuring the country’s military leadership and appointed 12 senior officers to regional commands.
Political observers suggest Trump’s engagement with Rodríguez hints at his hesitation to initiate a regime change, possibly stemming from a desire to not repeat the mistakes of the US’ Iraqi intervention and the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime, which threw the country into chaos.
“Those kinds of intervention operations and the deployment of troops for stabilisation have always ended very badly,” said Benigno Alarcón, a political expert at the Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas.
Meanwhile, pro-democracy voices continue to demand the release of all political prisoners held by the Maduro regime officials. They also demand that fresh, fair and transparent elections be held in the country.
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