Trump says working well with Venezuela's new leaders, open to meeting

US President Donald Trump says his administration is working well with Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodríguez – and that he would be open to meeting with her.

Trump's upbeat remarks on Sunday came just over a week after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was seized in a US special forces raid and brought to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.

Trump has said that the United States now has de facto control of Venezuela, as it enforces a naval blockade of the South American nation's vital oil exports.

Rodriguez, despite being a close Maduro ally, has indicated a willingness to work with the United States, saying she is open to cooperate on Trump's demands for access to Venezuelan oil.

Her government has also vowed to release political prisoners and begin talks on reestablishing diplomatic ties with Washington.

US envoys visited Caracas on Friday to discuss reopening Washington's Embassy there.

"Venezuela is really working out well. We're working along really well with the leadership," Trump told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One.

Asked if he planned to meet with Rodríguez, Trump said: "At some point I'll be."

He also said he expected to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Many were stunned when Trump dismissed the possibility of Machado serving as Venezuela's interim leader following the toppling of Maduro, and instead accepted Rodríguez's ascent.

Machado was given the Nobel Peace Prize last year and dedicated it to Trump, though he has made no secret of his frustration at being passed over for the award.

 

Political prisoners

The Venezuelan government began to release prisoners jailed under Maduro on Thursday, saying a "large" number would be released – but rights groups and the opposition say only about 20 have walked free so far, including several prominent opposition figures.

Relatives have gathered outside prisons believed to be holding political detainees, to await their loved ones' release, sometimes even camping outside.

Venezuela said Monday that 116 political prisoners have been released.

"These measures have benefited individuals deprived of liberty for acts related to disrupting the constitutional order and undermining the Nation's stability," the Penitentiary Service Ministry said in a statement announcing the releases to date.

Non-governmental organization Foro Penal reported that 24 people were freed early Monday, including two Italians, while Venezuela's political opposition reported the release of a youth leader.

Rights groups estimate there are 800 to 1,200 political prisoners currently being held in Venezuela.

"Venezuela has started the process, in a BIG WAY, of releasing their political prisoners. Thank you!" Trump said in a post late Saturday on his Truth Social platform. "I hope those prisoners will remember how lucky they got that the USA came along and did what had to be done."

Meanwhile, a detained police officer accused of "treason" against Venezuela died in state custody after a stroke and heart attack, the state prosecution service confirmed Sunday.

Opposition groups said the 52-year-old man, Edison José Torres Fernández, had shared messages critical of Maduro's government.

"We directly hold the regime of Delcy Rodríguez responsible for this death," Justice First, part of the Venezuelan opposition alliance, said on X.

Late Saturday, families held candlelight vigils outside El Rodeo prison east of Caracas and El Helicoide, a notorious jail run by the intelligence services, holding signs with the names of their imprisoned relatives.

Prisoners include Freddy Superlano, a close ally of Machado who was jailed after challenging Maduro's widely contested reelection in 2024.

"He is alive – that was what I was most afraid about," Superlano's wife Aurora Silva told reporters. "He is standing strong and I am sure he is going to come out soon."

Maduro's supporters rallied in Caracas on Saturday but the demonstrations were far smaller than his camp had mustered in the past, and top figures from his government were notably absent.

 

Oil exec meet

Trump pressed top oil executives at a White House meeting on Friday to invest in Venezuela, but was met with a cautious reception.

ExxonMobil's chief executive Darren Woods notably dismissed the country as "uninvestable" without sweeping reforms – earning a rebuke from Trump.

"I didn't like Exxon's response. You know, we have so many that want it, I'd probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They're playing too cute," Trump said Sunday.

Experts say Venezuela's oil infrastructure is creaky after years of mismanagement and sanctions.

Rodríguez has insisted Venezuela is not "subordinate" to Washington after it seized Maduro, but she has pledged to cooperate with it on oil.

Maduro's government had resorted to cryptocurrencies to boost foreign exchange flows amid a lack of investment, while runaway inflation wiped out people's already meagre wages.

Until Friday, January 2, relations between the two countries were at their lowest: US sanctions and seizures of tankers were squeezing Venezuela's shaky oil industry.

The country had been selling oil to allies such as China and Russia at discounts of up to 50 percent, with low production and export levels.

"Now, rapprochement between Washington and Caracas could mean easing sanctions, restoring oil exports and reviving cash flows," said Alejandro Grisanti, director of consultancy Ecoanalítica.

State oil company PDVSA has said it is negotiating crude sales with Washington under schemes similar to those applying to firms such as Chevron – the only US company currently exempted from sanctions on dealing in Venezuelan crude.

 

Trum's urging

Trump signed an order to safeguard Venezuelan oil revenue held in US Treasury accounts from the courts and debtors, and has urged US oil firms to invest in Venezuela and restore its creaky oil infrastructure.

Analysts say Rodríguez could attract investment if she signals openness and flexibility.

"The country urgently needs a growing and stable cash flow, and oil can provide it immediately," said independent economist Carlos Torrealba Rangel.

Growth prospects are strong since oil accounts for 87 percent of Venezuela's foreign currency earnings.

Asdrubal Oliveros, an independent economist, forecast "a 30-percent expansion – double the rate of the past two years."

"Increased oil income from higher output and reduced discounts will boost cash flows and help a currency market that is practically dry," he said.

 

–  TIMES/AFP