Caracas – Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, publicly called on U.S. President Donald Trump to end sanctions and the economic blockade against Venezuela, noting Trump’s recent description of the two countries as “friends and partners.” Rodríguez made the appeal during an event with young Venezuelans in Caracas, referencing Trump’s comments during his State of the Union address earlier in the week, where he referred to Venezuela as a “new friend and partner.”
“President Trump yesterday said that he was a friend and partner of Venezuela, and I celebrate and welcome that concept… because Venezuela has never been an enemy country to the United States,” Rodríguez stated, although acknowledging that relations began “on a highly bad foot on January 3rd of this year.” She characterized the country as having been “victim of a military aggression by a nuclear power on this continent,” suggesting the situation stemmed from years of falsehoods propagated by “transnational communication companies” and “extremist sectors of Venezuelan politics.”
Rodríguez directly addressed the U.S. President, stating, “President Trump, as friends, as partners, as we are opening a new agenda of cooperation with the United States, cease now the sanctions and cease the blockade against our homeland.”
The call for an end to sanctions coincided with a visit from Shell executives to Miraflores Palace to discuss reactivating gas exploitation projects in the country. Adam Lowmass, Shell S.A.’s regional vice president, Cederic Cremers, global vice president for Gas, and Elías Nucette and Alfredo Urdaneta, Shell S.A. Representatives in Venezuela, met with Rodríguez and Héctor Obregón, president of Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa). Pdvsa announced the meeting aimed to “finalize new investment schemes, the reactivation of wells and the exploitation of gas fields.”
According to the BBC, Delcy Rodríguez has been navigating a complex political landscape since assuming the interim leadership following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by U.S. Forces on January 3rd. Both Maduro and Flores are currently detained in New York awaiting trial on charges including drug trafficking, allegations they deny. The BBC reported that Rodríguez is attempting to balance maintaining support from Maduro loyalists with satisfying demands from the Trump administration, facing the potential of similar legal repercussions if she fails to comply.
The Tagesschau reported that following Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s transitional president, immediately declaring a state of emergency and directing police to pursue collaborators involved in the U.S. Operation. The Venezuelan Journalists Association (SNRP) reported 14 journalists were briefly detained following the declaration, but were subsequently released. The report also noted that ARD journalists have been routinely denied entry visas to Venezuela for the past five years, forcing reporting to be conducted from outside the country, primarily from the ARD studio in Mexico City, with support from local freelance journalists.
CNN reported that on January 26th, Rodríguez stated she had “had enough” of Washington’s orders, as she sought to consolidate power after the U.S. Capture of Maduro. Trump, however, stated he was unaware of Rodríguez’s comments, claiming to have a “very good relationship” with Venezuela.
According to a report from DER SPIEGEL, Donald Trump has publicly pressured Delcy Rodríguez, warning that repercussions would follow if she did not “do the right thing.”