A multitude of events have occurred this week in Venezuela, but of all the most shocking was the meeting in Caracas, on Thursday, between the interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and John Ratcliffe, the director of the CIA, the US agency that for months spied on the now former president Nicolás Maduro, imprisoned in New York, and designed his kidnapping plan that caused more than a hundred deaths, including 32 Cuban soldiers.
Ratcliffe traveled to the South American country under orders from President Donald Trump, “to convey the message that the United States expects an improvement in the working relationship,” he first announced. The New York Timesciting a US official, said this Friday a dispatch from the Spanish agency EFE.
“During the meeting in Caracas, Director Ratcliffe addressed possible opportunities for economic collaboration and noted that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for US adversaries, especially drug traffickers,” specified an official source cited by the network. cnn.
The meeting between Ratcliffe and Rodríguez, Chavista vice president who assumed command of Venezuela with Washington’s endorsement, took place on the same day that Trump received opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House, whom he described as a “wonderful woman,” but who was rejected for a role in an eventual transition.
The CIA director is the highest-ranking US official and the first member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet to visit Venezuela after the military operation that resulted in the capture and transfer of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to New York to be tried for narcoterrorism.
The images released by the CIA itself showed the director shaking Rodríguez’s hand and talking with senior Venezuelan military commanders. The trip, according to The New York Timeswas carried out by express order of President Donald Trump, who hopes for an “improvement in the working relationship” with the interim government.
According to the US press, the agency recruited an informant within Maduro’s inner circle, which allowed, for five months, knowledge of his daily routine, places of residence, trips, eating habits and even personal details, such as his pets.
Washington bets on Rodríguez
The meeting in Caracas between Ratcliffe and Rodríguez took place a day after the meeting at the White House between Trump and opposition leader María Corina Machado, who recently received the Nobel Peace Prize, in a controversial decision by the Swedish Academy that awards the award.
Although Machado gave his golden medal to the American president as a gesture of support, Trump ruled out her leading the transition because he considered that she lacks sufficient internal support, especially from the armed forces.
Instead, Washington has opted for Rodríguez, a lawyer and figure close to Maduro for years, who took office as interim president on January 5. A CIA report delivered to Trump maintained that keeping it at the helm was the most viable option to prevent Venezuela from “falling into chaos” after Maduro’s kidnapping.
New cabinet and “political moment” with oil as a star asset
Rodríguez has taken advantage of his position at the head of the government to announce a “new political moment” in Venezuela. On Friday he appointed Miguel Pérez Pirela, philosopher and communicator, as Minister of Communication; Freddy Ñáñez assumed Ecosocialism; and Vice Admiral Aníbal Coronado took command of Transportation.
The interim president stressed that the renewal seeks to “open political spaces” and give continuity to the releases of prisoners carried out in December 2025 under the Maduro government.
In parallel, Rodríguez promised the entry of foreign currency to private banks through the exchange mechanism, fueled by the sale of oil volumes. “Our concern is that foreign exchange is a driver of the national economy to guarantee the full productive capacities of Venezuela,” he said in a meeting broadcast on state television.
The Venezuelan minimum wage remains at 130 bolivars per month—less than 40 cents at the official exchange rate—which shows the collapse of purchasing power. The government has maintained that amount without increases, while increasing bonuses that do not affect labor benefits.
The agency Reuters reported that Venezuelan banks will receive $300 million from oil revenues deposited in an account in Qatar.
The plan is part of a $2 billion deal reached after Maduro’s ouster. The United States completed the first sale of Venezuelan crude oil for 500 million dollars, and the marketing of between 30 and 50 million barrels per day is expected under the aegis of Washington.
Part of those revenues will go to social protection and infrastructure funds. Rodríguez also announced a specific reform of the hydrocarbon law to attract investments in oil fields without infrastructure, with the aim of exploiting the largest reserves on the planet.
Gas, a full stop?
In another opening gesture, Rodríguez reported that Venezuela is making its debut as an exporter of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). “Today, for the first time in our history, an LPG marketing contract has been signed,” he said in an economic council with businessmen.
Venezuela has the largest gas reserves in Latin America, with 221 trillion cubic feet under its subsoil, but it has historically relegated this resource to oil. Although the country has been largely self-sufficient, it has sometimes had to import gas due to the lack of infrastructure and the State’s preference for exploiting crude oil, which is more profitable for its coffers.
However, gas today represents a strategic opportunity, although the challenge for Venezuela is twofold: build the infrastructure that allows it to connect with its neighbors and take advantage of the gas that is currently vented and burned.
Under United States sanctions, which limit access to financing, the program seemed doomed to failure, but the new geopolitical reality seems to encourage such gas plans.
Machado pursues a democratic transition sine die
Meanwhile, María Corina Machado expressed her confidence in an eventual democratic transition from Washington. He acknowledged, however, the difficulty of organizing free elections after decades of autocratic rule and avoided giving a timetable. “I am deeply confident that we will have an orderly transition,” he said at the Heritage Foundation.
The leader of Vente Venezuela dismissed the idea that Trump’s preference for Rodríguez implies a slight to her opposition movement. “This has nothing to do with a tension or decision between Delcy Rodríguez and me,” he assured.
Meanwhile, US officials are considering reopening the embassy in Caracas, closed during Trump’s first term. The president has insisted that Venezuela must become an energy ally of Washington, with American companies revitalizing deteriorating oil infrastructure.
This Friday closed with a flight with 231 Venezuelan migrants deported from Phoenix, United States, arriving at the Simón Bolívar international airport, 13 days after Maduro’s capture. The operation marked the resumption of direct transfers suspended in December due to bilateral tensions.
Return flights had been regular since March 2025, with several per week. However, they were interrupted after the deployment of US forces in the Caribbean and the Pacific against vessels suspected of drug trafficking.
