At the United Nations General Assembly in New York, former President Donald Trump was photographed shaking hands with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez, marking the first time the two have met in person since the US‑backed takeover of Venezuela’s leadership.
The conversation took place only a few kilometres from the federal courthouse where former head of state Nicolás Maduro awaits trial for drug trafficking and other charges, following a raid by US forces in Caracas that led to his surrender.
Rodríguez indicated that the duo discussed advancing a cooperation agenda in “strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security.” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were present as well.
In February, Rodríguez’s government inked a 100‑year concession that grants a US‑led company control over 17 Venezuelan oilfields, amounting to more than 65 billion barrels – roughly one‑fifth of the country’s reserves. Trump promoted the deal as “the biggest oil deal in world history.”
During his Monday address at the UN, Trump claimed that the United States and Venezuela together “control more than 60%” of the world’s oil reserves, adding a stark “to the victor belong the spoils.”
Rodríguez is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. She was sworn in as interim president by Venezuela’s National Assembly days after the US raid, with the White House’s approval, despite her prior sanctions and the lifting of those restrictions earlier this year.
