The President of the United States, Donald Trump, assured this Wednesday that he had a “lengthy” phone call with the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, whom he described as a “fantastic person” and with whom, he said, his administration has worked “very well.”
According to a report by EFE, Trump stated before the press in the Oval Office that the conversation was "excellent," that they covered "many topics," and that the bilateral relationship "is going very well."
Venezuelan diplomatic sources cited by EFE confirmed that the contact took place this Wednesday, was “very extensive and very good,” and had an “excellent” tone, at a time when both parties say they are working to restore formal diplomatic channels that have been broken for years.
In a press conference from the White House, Trump confirmed that it was a productive dialogue.
They gave us 50 million barrels of oil. We just had a great conversation today and she is a wonderful person, she is someone we have worked very well with. Marco Rubio is working on it, and I have worked on it with him. This morning we had a call, a long call where we discussed many things, and I believe we are coming together very well with Venezuela," he stated at the press conference.
From his social network Truth Social, the president stated that they are making "extraordinary progress" while helping Venezuela stabilize and recover.
"Many topics were discussed, such as oil, minerals, trade, and of course, national security. This alliance between the United States and Venezuela will be spectacular for everyone. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more than ever!" he wrote.
The statement from the U.S. president comes a day before Trump meets with opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House, in a series of contacts that has heightened interest in how Washington's dialogue with Caracas will take shape during the transition, as noted by EFE.
In previous days, Trump talked about an agreement to receive between 30 and 50 million barrels (presented as total volume), without describing it as a "daily" delivery.
Rodríguez assumed the presidency on an interim basis following the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3 in Caracas, and their transfer to New York to be tried for drug trafficking.
This Wednesday, Rodríguez also reported that the government has released 406 political prisoners and that the process of freeing them "remains open."
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