Trump says he will visit Venezuela: ‘The relationship we have now is a 10’

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque / Wendys Olivo/Palácio Miraflores/Disclosure via REUTERS The President of the United States, Donald Trump, praised the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and praised the current moment in the relationship between the two countries when speaking to reporters this Friday (13). Trump defined Rodríguez’s relationship with Washington as “great” and assured the American and Venezuelan governments are “working closely” on the oil issue. Asked by Reuters news agency whether he would recognize Rodríguez as an official government representative, Trump responded: “Yes, we have already done that. We are dealing with them and, in fact, right now they are doing a great job. I would say the relationship we have now with Venezuela is a 10.” A day earlier, in a post on the Truth Social network, he stated that his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and other government officials are “dealing very well” with the interim president, and that the “oil is starting to flow.” “Relations between Venezuela and the United States have been, to say the least, extraordinary! We are dealing very well with President Delcy Rodríguez and her representatives. Oil is beginning to flow and large amounts of money, not seen in many years, will soon greatly help the people of Venezuela,” he wrote. Invitation to the White House Interim President of Venezuela says she is ‘fed up’ with Washington’s orders In an interview with NBC News, released this Thursday (12), Delcy Rodríguez said she was invited to the United States during the visit of the American Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, to Caracas. According to the Venezuelan, who met with the Trump government representative on Wednesday (11) to discuss the recovery of the country’s oil industry, her government is considering accepting the invitation: “I was invited to the United States. We are considering going there as soon as we establish this cooperation and can move forward with everything.” The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and the US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria Despite positive statements from both sides, recently, on January 25, Delcy Rodríguez stated that she was “fed up” with the orders coming from Washington. “No more orders from Washington on politicians in Venezuela. Let’s let Venezuelan politics resolve our differences and internal conflicts. No more from foreign powers,” declared Rodríguez during a speech to oil sector workers in the state of Anzoátegui, in the east of the country. After Maduro’s overthrow, United States President Donald Trump announced that Rodríguez’s interim government would be under American tutelage. According to the White House, the US now controls Venezuelan oil. At the time, Trump and Rodríguez even spoke by phone. “We talk about a lot of things, and I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump said at the time. “And she’s an amazing person. I mean, she’s someone we’ve worked really well with.” In an interview with The Atlantic magazine, the American president stated that Rodríguez will pay a “very high price” if he does not cooperate with the United States. According to him, the cost of the interim president’s next steps could be even greater than Maduro’s. “If she doesn’t do what is right, she will pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro’s,” he declared. According to The New York Times, weeks before the operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture, US authorities had already decided that Delcy Rodríguez’s name would be “acceptable”, at least temporarily. Internally, the decision to keep her as a replacement was taken by Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice shortly after Maduro was removed from power by the US. According to the text, she took on the position to “guarantee administrative continuity and the full defense of the Nation”. After the Supreme Court’s statement, the Venezuelan Armed Forces also recognized Rodríguez as interim president. The Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino, made a statement on national television in which he endorsed the decision and confirmed that she will remain in office for 90 days. In his first statement after Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez called for calm and stated that Venezuela “will never be a colony of any nation”. She also classified the episode as a “kidnapping” promoted by the United States. Lawyer, Delcy Rodríguez is 55 years old and has held positions in the Venezuelan government since 2003, still under Hugo Chávez. Known for her combative profile, she is a constant presence in moments of greatest institutional tension in the country.

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