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The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, revealed this Thursday that Delcy Rodríguez, the interim president of Venezuela, will travel to India next week in search of oil agreements, according to statements reported by the EFE agency.
Rubio made the announcement before boarding his plane to Sweden, where he will participate in the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting, as the first leg of a trip that will take him to India between May 23 and May 26.
"In fact, as I understand it, the interim president of Venezuela will travel to India next week, so there are opportunities. There is a lot to work on with India," stated the head of U.S. diplomacy.
The Venezuelan government has not yet confirmed Rodríguez's trip, and Rubio did not specify whether they will meet during his stay in the Asian country.
The Secretary of State described New Delhi as "a great ally and a great partner" and noted that Washington wants to "sell them as much energy as they are willing to buy," amid the global disruptions caused by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The background of this announcement is the reorganization of the Venezuelan oil market following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by American forces on January 3, 2026, an event that radically transformed Venezuelan politics and oil flows in the region.
Rodríguez took the oath of office as interim president on January fifth of 2026 with the support of the Venezuelan Armed Forces and the Supreme Court of Justice, and since then, she has sought a pragmatic approach with Washington.
That approach included a meeting with a delegation from the U.S. Senate on March 20 of 2026 and the lifting of OFAC sanctions against Rodríguez on April 1, a decision she publicly expressed her gratitude for.
India, for its part, aggressively resumed the purchase of Venezuelan crude oil following Maduro's fall to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and avoid trade sanctions from Washington.
In March 2026, India acquired 343,000 barrels per day of Venezuelan crude, according to data from the maritime intelligence firm Kpler cited by Bloomberg, becoming the largest buyer of that oil, surpassing China and the United States.
Total oil exports from Venezuela amounted to about 890,000 barrels per day during that period, the highest level since December 2019, with refineries such as Reliance Industries, Hindustan Petroleum, and Indian Oil Corp among the main buyers.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, had agreed with Rodríguez earlier this year, in a phone conversation, to "deepen bilateral energy cooperation" in light of the Venezuelan government's need for liquidity.
Rubio will also participate in India in a meeting of the Quad, the security alliance between the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, highlighting the strategic dimension of the trip beyond the energy aspect.
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