U.S. President Donald Trump reported having a “very good” phone call with interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez on Jan. 14, covering a number of topics.
“This morning I had a very good call with the Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be spectacular one FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more so than ever before!”
Rodríguez, 56, served as the head of the Constituent Assembly. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who was ousted by the United States on Jan. 3, selected Rodríguez as his vice president in June 2018 and assigned her to manage sanctions on oil imposed by the United States on Venezuela.
She was sworn into office as president shortly after Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by the U.S. military on Jan. 3 and flown to New York to face charges that include narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. Maduro and his wife have pleaded not guilty.
Rodriguez echoed Trump’s statements about the phone conversation.
“I held a long and courteous telephone conversation with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, conducted within a framework of mutual respect, in which we addressed a bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our peoples, as well as pending matters between our governments,” Rodriguez posted on X.
The call between the two leaders was the latest development following Maduro’s removal.
The Venezuelan regime released several detained Americans this week in what U.S. officials described as a constructive move after Maduro’s capture. The U.S. State Department didn’t provide details about how many were released.
Trump has also taken steps to preserve Venezuela’s oil revenue after decades of corruption and socialist rule created a humanitarian crisis as infrastructure crumbled, while Venezuelans faced severe food and medicine shortages and the spread of infectious diseases.
Under a U.S. agreement with Venezuela’s interim leaders, up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil will be refined in the U.S. The oil revenues will be controlled by the United States to ensure that they are used for reconstruction and humanitarian purposes, for the benefit of both the American and Venezuelan people, according to Trump.
The U.S. president said oil companies are expected to invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated energy infrastructure and restore production capacity.
