Delcy Rodríguez appeared before the 81st General Assembly of the United Nations without uttering the name of Nicolás Maduro, the former Venezuelan dictator who has been imprisoned in the United States since his capture last January.
The full speech of the interim president of Venezuela, lasting nearly 19 minutes, was focused on the future and reconciliation, notably lacking one element: no direct reference to the personal, judicial, or political situation of her predecessor in power.
The only indirect reference to the episode that ended with Maduro's capture was a deliberately vague phrase: "In 2026, Venezuela has endured two significant and painful trials in its life as a nation: one, stemming from the strangulation of its internal political life and the heightened confrontation with the United States of America; the other, arising from the ferocity of nature, the double earthquake of June 24."
Instead of defending the former president or mentioning his detention, Rodríguez explicitly thanked Washington for the change in direction: "At this 81st UN General Assembly, I would like to thank President Donald Trump and his administration for their willingness to resume the path of diplomatic relations and cooperation with Venezuela."
The rhetorical shift was complete: the acting president, who served as chancellor and executive vice president under Maduro, presented herself to the world as the architect of a new era, abandoning the confrontational language that characterized Chavismo for decades.
Rodríguez also announced that the Chavista regime has begun a "process of democratic transformation," with two pillars: an institutional legal reform and a commitment to hold elections, although without setting a date or timetable.
«There will be elections in Venezuela. And in this regard, we have begun a political dialogue with opposition sectors aimed at establishing a process on equal terms for everyone,» she declared before the representatives of the member countries of the UN.
He also highlighted the recently signed energy agreement between Caracas and Washington, which he described as "one of the largest ever signed" and which, he stated, "will contribute to the energy balance of the hemisphere and the international economy."
The acting president also did not respond to the labels of "criminal and dictator" that Trump had directed at Maduro from the same podium hours earlier.
Rodríguez described his mission with a phrase that captures the tone of his entire address: "I come to take on a historical responsibility, to lead Venezuela from a stage of uncertainty and conflict to a stage of full democracy, recognized by its own people and by the world."
The silence regarding Maduro, combined with the gratitude towards Trump and the promise of elections, is interpreted as a deliberate signal of distancing from the former dictator and openness towards the international community, albeit without providing concrete guarantees or verifiable timelines for the announced process.
Her speech took place a day after meeting with Trump in New York, marking their first personal encounter since the capture of Maduro, which she herself described as "historic."
In his address to the UN, Trump boasted about the capture of Maduro and the oil agreement with Venezuela, stating that the United States would control part of Venezuela's crude oil reserves, without Rodríguez responding to those claims in his speech the following day.
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