Venezuelan Interim President Sends Envoy to US for Talks

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez / PHOTO Presidencia de Venezuela

JAKARTA - The representative of the Venezuelan government in the UK, Felix Plasencia Gonzalez, was asked by the interim President of Venezuela Delcy Ridriguez to leave for Washington on Thursday to attend negotiations, according to Bloomberg, citing several sources.

Earlier on Monday (12/1), Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said Rodriguez met with the heads of diplomatic missions of the European Union countries, as well as the United Kingdom and Switzerland, in Caracas.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday.

According to Bloomberg, Plasencia has been a close confidant of Rodriguez for years, including as his protocol director when Rodriguez served as foreign minister from 2014 to 2017.

Plasencia served as foreign minister of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in 2021 and 2022.

On January 3, the US launched a massive attack on Venezuela, arresting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and bringing them to New York.

US President Donald Trump announced that Maduro and Flores would be tried for allegedly being involved in "narcoterrorism" and posing a threat, including to the US.

During their appearance at the trial in New York, Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In connection with the US operation, Caracas requested an emergency meeting of the UN, and the Supreme Court of Venezuela temporarily assigned the responsibility of the head of state to Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

Previously on January 5, Rodriguez officially took office as acting president of Venezuela and took the oath of office before the National Assembly.