Trump meets Venezuelan acting president in first talks since Maduro capture

US President Donald Trump held talks Tuesday with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, marking their first direct encounter since US forces captured former President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on January 3 and flew him to face federal narcotics charges in the United States.

Historic encounter at UN

Rodriguez said on the social media platform X that the two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral ties and advancing cooperation in strategic areas during the Tuesday encounter on the sidelines of the annual gathering. "We held a historic meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during which we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, security and other matters of mutual interest," she said, adding that both nations share a historic connection they are now "called upon to steer through dialogue."

Quake relief and multilateral reintegration

She expressed appreciation to the Trump administration for its "steadfast support" following the June 24 earthquakes that struck Venezuela and thanked Washington for facilitating Caracas's "reintegration into multilateral forums" after years of diplomatic isolation. Rodriguez stated that her administration will pursue diplomacy focused on "achieving concrete results and collective benefits for the Venezuelan people," noting that sustained dialogue remains essential for rebuilding bilateral trust.

High-level US delegation

The informal pull-aside discussion involved Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller, according to a White House background disclosure. Washington did not release an official joint readout immediately following the talks. The diplomatic engagement follows a sweeping bilateral energy pact announced in August under which the United States secured long-term exploitation rights covering more than 65 billion barrels of proven crude reserves across 17 oil fields through a binational joint venture established after Washington recognized Rodriguez as interim leader.