Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, center, her brother National Assembly President, Jorge Rodriguez, left, and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello arrive at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Venezuela's interim president will soon visit the United States, a senior U.S. official said on Jan. 21, further signaling President Donald Trump's willingness to embrace the oil-rich country's new leader.
Delcy Rodriguez would be the first sitting Venezuelan president to visit the United States in more than a quarter century, aside from presidents attending United Nations meetings in New York.
She said on Jan. 21 that she approached any dialogue with the United States "without fear."
"We are in a process of dialogue, of working with the United States, without any fear, to confront our differences and difficulties and to address them through diplomacy," said Rodriguez.
The invitation reflects a head-snapping shift in relations between Washington and Caracas since U.S. Delta Force operatives swooped into Caracas, seized President Nicolas Maduro and spirited him to a U.S. jail to face narcotrafficking charges.
Rodriguez was a former vice president and long-time insider in Venezuela's authoritarian and anti-American government, before changing tack as interim president.
She is still the subject of U.S. sanctions, including an asset freeze.
Rodriguez on Jan. 21 began reorganizing the leadership of the country's military forces, appointing 12 senior officers to regional commands.
As a flotilla of U.S. warships remains off the Venezuelan coast, she has allowed the United States to broker the sale of Venezuelan oil, facilitated foreign investment and released dozens of political prisoners.
A senior White House official said Rodriguez would visit soon, but no date has been set.
