Trump to meet Venezuela's Delcy Rodriguez at UN General Assembly

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz confirmed Friday. The encounter will be a brief, informal "pull-aside" rather than a formal bilateral meeting with delegations and a joint press conference.

If it takes place, it will be the first direct meeting between a U.S. president and a Venezuelan head of state since Barack Obama briefly met Nicolas Maduro at the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama. No Venezuelan leader has attended the UN General Assembly since Maduro in 2018.

“It will be a 'pull aside' and not a bilateral. That is, a brief and informal encounter that two heads of state hold taking advantage of the fact that they coincide in a large event, like the UN Assembly.”

Rodriguez, who assumed the provisional presidency after Maduro's capture by U.S. forces in January, has aligned with Washington's economic objectives. Trump has praised her cooperation on reviving Venezuela's oil production, which collapsed during years of crisis and sanctions.

The meeting caps a rapid shift in relations: in less than a month, the U.S. certified Venezuela's cooperation on counter-narcotics and agreed to take a fifth of its proven oil reserves. Rodriguez previously accused the U.S. of "state terrorism" via banks and insurers during a 2019 UN address.

Trump's UN schedule also includes meetings with UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Brazilian President Lula da Silva will open the General Debate on Tuesday, followed by Trump.