U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright met with Venezuela’s “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Wednesday as part of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Venezuela energy deal and to advance Trump’s plan to restore democracy in the country following the downfall of Nicolás Maduro.
Wright travelled to Caracas on Wednesday morning, marking the first time in two decades that a U.S. energy secretary has visited the South American nation. The visit, Wright said in Caracas, is part of President Trump’s broader agenda to “Make the Americas Great Again.”
The U.S. Department of Energy detailed in a press release that Wright’s agenda included talks with Rodríguez and other interim authorities in the Venezuelan regime, as well as encounters with local business leaders and the people of Venezuela — advancing President Trump’s mission to “restore prosperity, safety, and security for Venezuela, the United States, and the entire Western Hemisphere.”
Sec. Wright met with Rodríguez at the Miraflores presidential palace in the Venezuelan capital, where the socialist authorities received him with a musical show. U.S. Ambassador Laura Dogu, the chargé d’affaires of the Venezuela Affairs Unit (VAU), detailed in a social media post that she and Wright conversed with Rodríguez and other regime authorities to advance the Trump administration’s three-phase stabilization, recovery and reconciliation, and transition plan towards restoring democracy in Venezuela.
Speaking to reporters outside Miraflores after the meeting, Secretary Wright said that he brought a message from President Trump: “He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela. This is part of a broader agenda to Make the Americas Great Again.”
“To bring our countries closer together, and to bring commerce, peace, prosperity, jobs, and opportunity to the people of Venezuela in partnership with the United States: These are not just words or ambitions. We have very specific plans and very specific actions already,” he added.
Sec. Wright pointed out that the U.S. government has been working to issue licenses to expand businesses and investment opportunities in Venezuela, stating, “All of the things that have constricted the Venezuelan economy — we want to set the Venezuelan people and the economy free.”
Rodríguez told reporters that the first point in their discussion was the establishment of a “long-term productive partnership” on energy, including cooperation in the oil, gas, mining, and electricity industries.
The “acting president” said that Wright’s delegation also held meetings with their technical counterparts in Venezuela, “looking for ways to move forward as quickly as possible.”
“Above all, this is beneficial for both countries, for both peoples, for the people of the United States and for the people of Venezuela, and for this relationship and energy agenda to move forward without difficulties or setbacks, through diplomatic and political dialogue,” Rodríguez stressed.
“We welcome the energy dialogue, which will provide the appropriate and relevant channels for the United States and Venezuela to take a mature approach, despite our historical differences, and move forward,” she continued. “We know that this first trip will be the beginning of many other trips, and we are sure to have visitors to Secretary Wright and his technical teams. We welcome and open this energy agenda, a long-term productive partnership.”
President Donald Trump told reporters in the weeks following the January 3 U.S. law enforcement operation to arrest dictator Nicolás Maduro that “acting president” Rodríguez is collaborating with the United States following Maduro’s downfall.
According to the Venezuelan news site El Nacional, Rodríguez told reporters after her meeting with Wright that she will travel to the United States “at some point.” Her conciliatory remarks alongside the U.S. energy secretary notably undermine her initially combative stance, as she at first claimed that she had had “enough” of Washington’s orders and lashed out at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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