CIA Director had Two Hour Meeting with New Venezuelan Leader in Caracas
CIA director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Thursday "at USA President Trump's direction," a US official has said.The two-hour meeting was aimed at building trust and communication following the US seizure of Venezuela's former president Nicolás Maduro almost two weeks ago.Ratcliffe and Rodríguez discussed potential economic collaboration and that "Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America's adversaries", according to the US official.The meeting took place on the same day Rodríguez gave her first state of the union address since taking over as interim president, where she announced oil industry reforms to allow more foreign investment - a move away from Maduro's USA policies.
Jan 16 (Reuters) - CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's interim leader in Caracas to discuss cooperation, a U.S. official said on Friday, in the most senior known visit by a U.S. official since the United States toppled President Nicolas Maduro this month.
Ratcliffe met on Thursday with Delcy Rodriguez at the direction of President Donald Trump, "to deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship," the official said.
During her speech to the nation, Rodríguez said she was not afraid to face the US "diplomatically through political dialogue," adding Venezuela had to defend its "dignity and honour".
President Donald Trump has said US oil companies will move into Venezuela and make money that will go to people there and to the US, with a top official saying the US would control sales of sanctioned Venezuelan oil "indefinitely".Trump has asked oil companies to invest at least $100bn (£75bn) in Venezuela, but one executive said last week the country is currently "uninvestable".Rodríguez, the former vice-president, was sworn in on 5 January after US forces seized Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in an operation in Caracas. They are now detained in New York, where they have pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and other charges.
The US official described the meeting between Rodríguez and Ratcliffe as "historic", adding that Ratcliffe was the first cabinet-level official to travel to Venezuela.
The meeting also happened on the same day that Trump met opposition leader Maria Corina Machado in Washington, who presented the US president with her Nobel Peace Prize winning medal.
In her state of the union address, Rodríguez told Venezuelans it was "very difficult" to deliver Maduro's annual report, saying that the two were working on the speech together until six hours before his seizure on 3 January.Noting the US is a nuclear power, the interim president said she was not afraid to engage in diplomacy, saying "we have to go together as Venezuelans to defend sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and also defend our dignity and our honour".She continued that if she needed to travel to Washington DC to meet with Trump, she would do so "walking on her feet, not dragged there".She added that "all of Venezuela is threatened", and called for national unity to "wage the diplomatic battle".
In her address, Rodríguez announced the proposal to reform the country's hydrocarbon law, saying she had asked the legislative body to approve it.
Until now, Venezuela's hydrocarbon law has stated foreign partners must work with the country's state-owned oil and gas company, PDVSA - which must hold a majority stake.
The reforms, Rodríguez said, would allow investment to flow to new fields.She said she had instructed her government to create two sovereign funds - one for social protection so that "foreign currency goes directly to hospitals, schools, food, housing" and the second for infrastructure and social development to invest in water, electricity and roads.Venezuela has been facing an economic crisis, with a sharp rise in food prices and the lack of purchasing power. Before the US operation to seize Maduro, Venezuelans told the BBC they were concerned about what they were going to eat.
"We're more worried about food. Venezuela is in bad shape. Inflation is eating us alive," one man said.
Rodríguez's reforms come as Trump and American investors eye opportunity in Venezuela, which holds the world's largest proven oil reserves.Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended a meeting at the White House last week acknowledged that Venezuela represented an enticing opportunity.But they said significant changes would be needed to make
Trump said his administration would decide which firms would be allowed to operate."You're dealing with us directly. You're not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don't want you to deal with Venezuela," he said.Trump also said that "one of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices".
Venezuela has had a complicated relationship with international oil firms since crude oil was discovered in its territory more than 100 years ago.
Chevron is the last remaining major American oil company still operating in the country.
The high-profile visit, which could be seen as snubbing the opposition, comes nearly two weeks after the U.S. military seized President Nicolás Maduro in a raid.
They discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and the need to ensure Venezuela was no longer a "safe haven for America's adversaries, especially narco-traffickers".
The visit took place the same day that Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump at the White House.
Since sending troops to seize Maduro, Washington has held back from saying the opposition should take power, despite having previously said Machado's ally rightfully won an election in 2024.Rodriguez, who served as vice president under Maduro, took over the presidency on an interim basis after the U.S. military seized Maduro and flew him to the United States to stand trial for drug charges.Trump spoke with Rodriguez by phone on Wednesday, with the two leaders each separately describing the call as positive.
Rodriguez has previously criticized the Trump administration for "kidnapping" Maduro and called for his return. However, Washington has said she is favorable as an interim leader to preserve stability.The U.S. official said the two-hour Ratcliffe meeting was focused on building trust between the U.S. and Venezuela.CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's interim leader in Caracas to discuss co-operation, a U.S. official said on Friday, in the most senior known visit by a U.S. official since the United States toppled Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro this month.
Ratcliffe met on Thursday with Delcy Rodríguez at the direction of U.S. President Donald Trump, "to deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship," the official said.
They discussed intelligence co-operation, economic stability and the need to ensure Venezuela was no longer a "safe haven for America's adversaries, especially narco-traffickers."
Rodríguez, who served as vice-president under Maduro, took over the presidency on an interim basis after the U.S. military seized Maduro and flew him to the United States to stand trial for drug charges.
Venezuela's Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino said Friday that the U.S. raid to capture and remove Maduro from power killed 47 Venezuelan soldiers, including nine women.
Cuba on Thursday received the remains of 32 of its soldiers it said were killed in combat in the morning of Jan. 3. Venezuela's interior minister said last week 100 people were killed in the attack, without saying how many were soldiers.
USA Trump, Rodríguez spoke by phone
Trump spoke with Rodríguez by phone on Wednesday, with the two leaders each separately describing the call as positive.Rodríguez has previously criticized the Trump administration for "kidnapping" Maduro and called for his return. However, Washington has said she is favourable as an interim leader to preserve stability.
The U.S. official said the two-hour Ratcliffe meeting was focused on building trust between the U.S. and Venezuela."The director made clear Venezuela can no longer provide support to drug traffickers like TDA," the official said, referring to Tren de Aragua, a criminal gang.
The New York Times first reported the Ratcliffe trip."The director made clear Venezuela can no longer provide support to drug traffickers like TDA," the official said, referring to Tren de Aragua, a criminal gang.The USA New York Times first reported the Ratcliffe trip. The White House did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Thursday, according to a US official.
“During the meeting in Caracas, Director Ratcliffe discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration and that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narcotraffickers,” the official said.The meeting, which was first re
The administration’s policy decision to back Rodríguez over Machado was informed by a classified CIA analysis on the impact of Maduro no longer being president and near-term implications of his potential removal, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The tightly held intelligence product was commissioned by senior policymakers, and the CIA was expected to continue providing similar recommendations on the leadership situation in Venezuela going forward, multiple sources previously The assets included a CIA source operating within the Venezuelan government who assisted the United States with tracking Maduro’s location and movements ahead of his capture, one source briefed on the operation
Ratcliffe’s meeting with Rodríguez this week was meant to build trust, according to the US official, and reflects the CIA director’s emphasis on human intelligence gathering and wanting the agency to be less risk averse.The visit, which included a small team of American officials and was first reported by The New York Times, was intended to lay the groundwork for additional cooperation between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s new leaders, the official said.
Machado said she rejected the notion that Trump has chosen to work with Rodríguez over her opposition movement, which is widely believed to have won the 2024 presidential election.
Rodríguez used her first state of the union message as acting president Thursday to advocate for opening the crucial state-run oil industry to more foreign investment following the Trump administration’s pledge to oversee Venezuelan crude sales.
Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, giving no timetable on when elections might be held. In turn, Machado took pains when pressed Friday to avoid giving any details on her plans to return home or when elections might be held.
Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado — the longtime face of the fight for democracy in Venezuela — to lead her country because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
That aligns with the findings of a CIA analytic assessment that modeled potential political leadership scenarios in Venezuela if Maduro were no longer president, CBS News can confirm. The analysis, which was closely held and briefed to a limited group of senior administration officials, concluded that existing Maduro-aligned officials — including Rodríguez — would be best positioned to maintain short-term stability.
During his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Ratcliffe promised that, as he put it, the agency would be less risk-averse under his leadership. This visit to Caracas reflected the U.S. intelligence chief's belief that he would not ask the CIA workforce to take risks he would not take himself, the U.S. official told CBS News.
CBS News has previously reported that the CIA had a small team operating clandestinely on the ground in Venezuela as early as August to lay the groundwork for Maduro's capture, including a human asset helping it track Maduro.
Posted on 2026/01/17 09:44 AM