Historic Meeting: CIA Director Engages with New Venezuelan Leadership

Sat Jan 17 2026 05:37:04 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a significant diplomatic move, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodríguez to foster economic collaboration and build trust in the wake of recent political changes.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas for a two-hour discussion aimed at fostering trust and economic cooperation after the US's recent actions against former President Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez outlined reforms in the oil sector and emphasized her intent to engage diplomatically with the US, while also addressing the country's economic challenges amid calls for national unity.

CIA director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Thursday at President Trump's direction, a US official has said.

The two-hour meeting was aimed at building trust and communication following the US seizure of Venezuela's former president Nicolás Maduro almost two weeks ago.

Ratcliffe and Rodríguez discussed potential economic collaboration and that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America's adversaries, according to the US official.

The meeting took place on the same day Rodríguez gave her first state of the union address since taking over as interim president, where she announced oil industry reforms to allow more foreign investment - a move away from Maduro's policies.

During her speech to the nation, Rodríguez said she was not afraid to face the US diplomatically through political dialogue, adding Venezuela had to defend its dignity and honour.

President Donald Trump has said US oil companies will move into Venezuela and make money that will go to people there and to the US, with a top official stating the US would control sales of sanctioned Venezuelan oil indefinitely.

Trump has asked oil companies to invest at least $100bn (£75bn) in Venezuela, but one executive stated last week the country is currently uninvestable.

Rodríguez, the former vice-president, was sworn in on 5 January after US forces seized Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in an operation in Caracas. They are now detained in New York, where they have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.

The US official described the meeting between Rodríguez and Ratcliffe as historic, adding that Ratcliffe was the first cabinet-level official to travel to Venezuela.

The meeting also happened on the same day that Trump met opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington, who presented the US president with her Nobel Peace Prize winning medal.

In her state of the union address, Rodríguez told Venezuelans it was very difficult to deliver Maduro's annual report, stating that they worked on the speech until six hours before his seizure on 3 January.

Noting the US is a nuclear power, the interim president said she was not afraid to engage in diplomacy, asserting that we have to go together as Venezuelans to defend sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and also defend our dignity and our honour.

She continued that if she needed to travel to Washington DC to meet with Trump, she would do so walking on her feet, not dragged there.

Rodríguez added that all of Venezuela is threatened, and called for national unity to wage the diplomatic battle.

In her address, Rodríguez announced the proposal to reform the country's hydrocarbon law, requesting legislative approval for changes that would allow foreign investment to flow to new fields.

She proposed creating two sovereign funds aimed at social protection and infrastructure development in response to the ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela.

Rodríguez's reforms come as Trump and American investors eye opportunities in Venezuela, which holds the world's largest proven oil reserves. However, executives acknowledged significant changes would be needed for the region to become an attractive investment.