Trump, Delcy Rodríguez to meet in New York amid oil deals, calls for democracy in Venezuela

U.S. President Donald Trump will hold a meeting with the president of Venezuela's interim government, Delcy Rodríguez, next Tuesday in New York.

The meeting will take place as part of the High-level Week of the United Nations General Assembly and will mark the conclusion of the U.S. president's official schedule before his return to Washington.

The meeting will mark a diplomatic milestone as it will be the first direct dialogue between a U.S. president and a Venezuelan leader in more than 11 years, following the brief rapprochement between Barack Obama and Nicolás Maduro during the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz clarified that the meeting will be informal rather than a formal bilateral meeting. The announcement comes following the restoration of diplomatic relations promoted by the Republican administration following Maduro's capture and removal from office on Jan. 3.

Energy agreements and the challenge of Democratic transition

Since the beginning of the transition period, the U.S. government has removed Rodríguez from the sanctions lists and recognized the legality of her interim presidency.

In return, Caracas pushed through reforms to the hydrocarbons regulatory framework, released a large number of political prisoners (though not all), and agreed to engage in dialogue with the opposition under Washington's auspices.

However, the cornerstone of the bilateral relationship was solidified in August following the signing of a historic oil agreement that grants the United States indirect control over one-fifth of Venezuela's crude oil reserves. Under this arrangement, U.S. concessionary companies will participate in the extraction of oil fields with an estimated potential of 65 billion barrels.

The close economic ties have raised questions among sectors that warn of the risk of prioritizing access to energy resources over immediate electoral demands.

Although Trump has publicly reiterated that Venezuela will hold elections, he has avoided specifying an official timeline after arguing that the South American nation does not yet meet the necessary conditions for an electoral process.