Updates
18d
Rodríguez addressed the General Assembly on Wednesday — a day earlier than originally scheduled — telling world leaders that elections would be held in Venezuela as part of a transition to "full democracy", though she gave no specific date. She framed the process around what she called pillars of political reconstruction, including institutional review and equal conditions for all political forces, and said the Venezuelan people would determine the timing of any vote. Notably absent from her speech was any mention of Nicolás Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn detention facility roughly seven miles from the UN building. Hours before her address, Trump told the General Assembly that Maduro was an "outlaw dictator" and credited his capture with the release of hundreds of political prisoners, while human rights organisation Foro Penal reported this week that 344 political prisoners remain in Venezuelan custody, 191 of them held without conviction.
19d
The bilateral meeting between Rodríguez and Trump took place as scheduled on Tuesday, becoming the first in-person encounter between the two leaders, according to the White House. Senior US officials present included adviser Stephen Miller, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, though no further details of the discussion were immediately released. Meanwhile, Venezuelan expatriates demonstrated outside the UN in New York, chanting slogans and demanding free elections, with critics arguing that the Trump administration has sidelined opposition leader María Corina Machado in favour of oil access and investment deals with Rodríguez's interim government.
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, arrived in New York in the early hours of Monday to attend the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, with a high-stakes bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump scheduled for Tuesday. Her address to the General Assembly is set for Thursday, September 24, and the UN has formally listed her as head of state in its official documentation — a protocol designation that reflects her standing with the organisation.
Rodríguez landed at Teterboro Airport in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she was received by senior Venezuelan officials including Sectoral Vice President for the Economy Calixto Ortega and First Deputy Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco, as well as US chargé d'affaires John Barrett. Her arrival marks her first visit to the United States since she assumed leadership of Venezuela in January, following a US military operation that resulted in the capture of then-president Nicolás Maduro — whom Washington describes as an
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