President Trump and Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez held their first in-person meeting at the United Nations General Assembly, which Rodriguez described as "historic." The leaders discussed enhancing bilateral cooperation on energy, mining and security, and several senior US aides attended. Rodriguez — a former vice president under Nicolas Maduro — has reportedly cooperated with US requests regarding access to Venezuela's oil reserves, though some related claims remain contested. Trump also said the US and Venezuela together control more than 60% of the world's oil during his UN address.
Historic UN Meeting: Trump and Venezuela's Delcy Rodriguez Discuss Energy, Mining and Security
President Donald Trump met with Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (Handout)
US President Donald Trump and Venezuela's interim leader Delcy Rodriguez met in person on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, marking their first face-to-face encounter, Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, who is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday, described the meeting as "historic" in a post on X accompanied by a photograph of the two leaders smiling.
According to a White House official, several senior US aides joined the meeting, including top advisor Stephen Miller, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury official Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rodriguez said the leaders discussed "strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and moving forward with a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security." She framed the talks as an effort to build practical cooperation on shared strategic interests.
Rodriguez previously served as Venezuela's vice president under Nicolas Maduro. The meeting comes amid reports that Rodriguez has, to date, cooperated with certain US requests regarding access to Venezuela's oil sector; those reports come from US sources and have not been independently verified in all details.
During his UN address, Trump referenced Venezuela, saying: "When you add the United States and Venezuela together, we have more than 60 percent of the oil in the world." He added: "To the victor belong the spoils."
Context and accuracy note: The article previously referenced claims that Nicolas Maduro was captured in a US military raid in January. Such claims have been widely disputed and are not independently verified; this report therefore presents that development with caution and attributes it to the relevant sources rather than asserting it as an established fact.
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