Donald Trump to meet Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez at UN General Assembly in New York

Meeting format and United Nations schedule

The White House confirmed on Friday that Donald Trump will hold a bilateral meeting with Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodríguez on Tuesday in New York. The encounter will occur on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz stated that the meeting will take place as a pull-aside, a brief and less formal discussion without a detailed agenda or joint press appearance. The session represents the first encounter between an American president and a Venezuelan leader in 11 years, following a brief discussion between Barack Obama and Nicolás Maduro at the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama. Trump is scheduled to deliver his general assembly address on Tuesday morning, participate in a reception with international leaders, and hold bilateral meetings with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, along with a multilateral session with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The meeting with Rodríguez will be the final item on Trump's schedule before he returns to Washington.

Shift in bilateral ties and energy agreements

The planned meeting follows a total realignment of diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas after United States forces deposed and captured Nicolás Maduro in January 2026. Washington subsequently recognized Rodríguez, who previously served as vice president under Maduro, and restored diplomatic relations that had remained severed since 2019. On 28 August 2026, Trump announced an energy agreement granting the United States access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, representing roughly one fifth to nearly one quarter of the country's total supply. Trump stated that the arrangement would help replenish United States strategic petroleum reserves, which have reached their lowest level in four decades.

Trump defended the terms of the bilateral energy arrangement shortly after its announcement.

“It is a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.”

The American president also pointed to the immediate commercial flow of crude during remarks to reporters preceding the formal confirmation of the New York meeting.

“Now we have the oil, we are bringing millions of barrels of crude each month.”

Policy adjustments and diplomatic scrutiny

In addition to the energy agreement, the White House introduced executive measures easing previous sanctions and designations against the Venezuelan government. On Wednesday, Trump signed a presidential decree removing Venezuela from the United States list of countries that demonstrably fail their international counternarcotics commitments, citing bilateral cooperation against drug cartels.

“Given the positive progress achieved under the management of interim president Delcy Rodríguez, I have decided that Venezuela should no longer be designated for demonstrably failing its drug control commitments.”

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio managed the diplomatic coordination with the Rodríguez administration, confirming ongoing bilateral communication ahead of the United Nations summit. The rapid restoration of ties has drawn scrutiny from critics who argue that the Trump administration is prioritizing oil extraction over institutional democratic reforms in Venezuela. Rodríguez will arrive in New York next week to participate in general assembly sessions alongside the scheduled meeting.