On January 14th, US President Donald J. Trump, also known as Donald Trump, stated that he had a “very good” phone call with Delcy Rodríguez, the interim President of Venezuela. During the call, they exchanged views on various issues including oil, minerals, trade, and national security.
Trump mentioned on his social platform, Truth Social, that the US is assisting Venezuela in promoting stability and economic recovery. He described the cooperation between the two countries as making “tremendous progress” and emphasized that the partnership between the US and Venezuela will bring extraordinary results for everyone, suggesting that Venezuela may experience unprecedented prosperity.
Rodríguez also responded on the social platform X, stating that she had a “long and friendly phone conversation” with Trump. The discussion took place in a respectful atmosphere where they talked about bilateral work agendas that benefit both countries’ people and unresolved matters between the two governments.
This phone call is seen as a significant diplomatic development following the recent upheavals in Venezuela. Earlier this month, in a US-led operation, former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested by the US military and extradited to New York. They face multiple charges, including drug trafficking and terrorist activities, which they deny.
Following Maduro’s arrest, Delcy Rodríguez, 56, was sworn in as interim President to take over the transitional government. She previously served as the president of the Constituent Assembly and became the Vice President in 2018, responsible for handling the US sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry.
After Maduro’s arrest, Venezuela released several detained American citizens this week. Washington described this move as a “constructive development” but did not disclose further details.
Trump revealed that the US has reached an agreement with Venezuela’s interim leadership to allow for the refining of up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil in the US. The oil revenues will be supervised by the US to ensure they are earmarked for reconstruction and humanitarian aid to benefit both American and Venezuelan people.
Trump emphasized that this arrangement aims to prevent the resource drain caused by corruption and socialist policies over the past decades and provide a sustainable source of funding for Venezuela’s economic recovery.
Additionally, Trump mentioned that the US and international oil companies are expected to invest at least $100 billion in repairing Venezuela’s long-neglected energy infrastructure and restoring its oil production capacity.