Fri, 16 Jan 2026

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 CIA director had two-hour meeting with new Venezuelan leader in Caracas

The pair discussed economic opportunities and preventing Venezuela becoming a place for "America's adversaries", a US official said.

* CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas on Thursday, at the direction of President Trump.
* The two-hour meeting aimed to build trust and communication following the US seizure of Venezuelan former president Nicolás Maduro.
* Ratcliffe and Rodríguez discussed potential economic collaboration and Venezuela's role as a safe haven for America's adversaries.
* Rodríguez announced oil industry reforms in her state of the union address, allowing more foreign investment and creating two sovereign funds for social protection and infrastructure development.
* President 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".
* The US is seeking $100bn in investments from oil companies, but one executive said last week that the country is currently "uninvestable".
* Rodríguez stated she was not afraid to engage in diplomacy and defended Venezuela's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
* She announced reforms to allow foreign partners to invest directly in new fields, rather than working with state-owned oil company PDVSA.
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