Trump meets Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez at UN summit

Bilateral talks at the UN General Assembly

Donald Trump and Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez held a closed-door meeting at the Lotte New York Palace hotel on Tuesday, 22 September 2026. The talks took place during an evening reception hosted by the US president for foreign leaders attending the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. Unlike Trump's earlier bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the session with Rodríguez excluded press access entirely. High-level US officials present at the discussions included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Following the meeting, Rodríguez published a photograph showing both leaders smiling, with Trump giving a thumbs up and Rodríguez making a victory sign.

Strategic focus on energy and security

Discussions between the two delegations focused on bilateral cooperation across strategic sectors, specifically energy, mining, and security. Rodríguez expressed gratitude for emergency aid delivered by the White House after earthquakes struck Venezuela on 24 June 2026. The meeting followed an agreement under which Venezuela granted the United States control over one-fifth of its crude oil reserves, including 100-year exploration rights assigned to a private US company. The energy arrangement prompted criticism from political sectors that argue Washington prioritizes commercial oil access over domestic political reforms. In a public statement after the talks, Rodríguez emphasized the need for ongoing direct engagement.

Venezuela and the United States share a historical relationship that, in this new stage, we are called to channel through dialogue.

Shift in US diplomatic policy toward Caracas

The meeting is the first formal encounter between an American president and a Venezuelan head of state in over 11 years, since Barack Obama met briefly with Nicolás Maduro at the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama. The session occurred a few kilometers from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maduro has been held on drug trafficking charges since US special agents captured him in Caracas in January 2026. The Trump administration previously placed Rodríguez on a human rights sanctions list in September 2018 during Trump's first presidential term, but the US Treasury Department formally removed her from that list on 1 April 2026. As Washington cooperates with the interim administration, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has remained unable to enter Venezuela, detained by paperwork and travel restrictions in Panama.

Diplomatic schedule and European reactions

Rodríguez arrived in New York on Monday for the first attendance by a Venezuelan president at the United Nations General Assembly since 2018. Caracas characterized the diplomatic visit as an achievement, and Rodríguez is scheduled to deliver a formal speech before the UN General Assembly plenary on Thursday, 24 September 2026. At the same time, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez chose not to attend Trump's reception on Tuesday evening, with Spanish officials citing late invitation delivery and scheduling constraints. Sánchez instead conducted private meetings in New York with Apple chief executive Tim Cook, a former prime minister of Australia, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.