Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez arrived in New York City on Monday to lead her nation’s delegation at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Her high-profile diplomatic appearance follows months after U.S. forces captured her predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, during a special forces raid in Caracas.
Delcy Rodríguez stepped into the role of interim president early Monday, ascending to the nation’s top office while her predecessor Nicolás Maduro awaited arraignment in a federal U.S. court on drug smuggling charges. The transition came just two days after American special forces captured Maduro in Caracas. Rodríguez, 56, is a powerful figure and a longtime confidant of Maduro, having served as Venezuela’s vice president from 2018 until Sunday. Her brother also holds a senior government role as president of the National Assembly, the country’s legislature.
The shift in leadership follows a violent military operation that killed at least 83 people, including Venezuelan military personnel, Cuban presidential guards, and four civilians. Initially, Rodríguez denounced the U.S. operation as a violation of the United Nations founding charter and a unilateral attempt to force regime change. She soon adopted a more conciliatory tone, however, calling for respectful international relations and extending an invite for the U.S. government to collaborate on an agenda of cooperation.
United Nations General Assembly and New York Meetings
By Monday, Rodríguez traveled to New York City to lead her country’s delegation at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, an event running until September 28. Her intervention is scheduled for September 24 during the second slot of the general debate, following appearances by Uruguay and Senegal. The main theme of this session centers on restoring trust and managing transformation, drawing the attendance of more than 190 world leaders.
On Tuesday night, President Trump held his first meeting with Rodríguez at the Lotte New York Palace hotel in Manhattan. The discussions took place just seven miles from the Brooklyn prison where Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are held. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and homeland security advisor Stephen Miller also participated in the talks.
We held a historic meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, with whom we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security.
Delcy Rodríguez, Acting President of Venezuela
Following the talks, Rubio described the session as brief but significant. The diplomatic engagement follows a warning delivered by the U.S. president immediately after Maduro’s seizure. Trump warned Rodríguez she would face an even worse fate if she failed to cooperate with Washington.
Energy Agreements and Sovereign Control Debates
Central to the geopolitical shift is a highly controversial energy agreement announced by Washington and Caracas. Trump heralded the arrangement as the biggest oil deal in world history. Details remain sparse, but the pact reportedly involves the U.S. taking control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves across 17 strategic oilfields where officials hope to produce more than 1.5m barrels per day.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, with an estimated 303bn barrels, compared with Saudi Arabia’s 268bn and Iran’s 208bn. Rodríguez defended the arrangement during a six-minute television broadcast, pushing back against domestic critics. She argued that underground resources alone are insufficient to generate national wealth.
As everyone knows, our country has the biggest oil reserves in the world. But having resources underground isn’t enough. We need investment, technology, infrastructure [and] production capacity to convert this wealth into wellbeing for our people.
Delcy Rodríguez, Acting President of Venezuela
Rodríguez claimed the deal would help her resource-rich country develop its economy, earn revenues exceeding $209bn (£154bn), and transform into an energy powerhouse. She also noted that Trump plans to fill the U.S. Strategic National Reserves with Venezuelan oil, describing the arrangement as a gift to the American people.
Domestic Outrage and Opposition Backlash
The oil agreement sparked immediate backlash within Venezuela, drawing condemnation from both opposition figures and members of the ruling Chavismo political movement. Rafael Ramírez, the former head of state-owned oil company PDVSA, accused the interim administration of driving a dagger straight into the heart of the homeland through a neocolonial transaction.
Protesters also voiced anger on the streets of Caracas. Dozens of leftwing demonstrators marched carrying banners declaring that Venezuela is neither a colony nor a backyard, while critics circulated memes suggesting PDVSA should be renamed PDUSA. In response to the accusations of surrendering sovereignty, Rodríguez maintained that her government retained full ownership and control over the nation’s natural assets.
Washington Assesses the Transition
The White House has maintained a pragmatic yet conditional stance toward the new interim leadership. While Trump noted that Rodríguez is willing to cooperate, he reiterated that she will face severe consequences if she strays from expectations. Secretary of State Marco Rubio adopted a measured approach when addressing the remaining figures of the former regime.
Appearing on Sunday news programs, Rubio clarified that the administration evaluates officials based on their future actions rather than past behavior or public statements. At the same time, Rubio emphasized that the U.S. does not view Rodríguez or her cohort as holding a legitimate claim to power derived from an election.
Instead, Washington maintains that true systemic legitimacy will only emerge through a future transition period and elections. As Rodríguez addresses the General Assembly in New York, the roughly 30 million citizens of Venezuela face an uncertain trajectory regarding how much autonomy Washington will ultimately permit under the newly forged bilateral framework.