Overview
- U.S. officials say John Ratcliffe traveled under presidential instruction and met Delcy Rodríguez for about two hours in Caracas.
- Sources describe goals of building trust, establishing routine communication, and pursuing intelligence, economic and anti-narcotics cooperation.
- The visit was the highest-level U.S. presence in Venezuela since U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and transferred him to New York for prosecution.
- Reporting based on U.S. officials says the trip was coordinated across the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon.
- The outreach followed Trump’s phone call with Rodríguez and his separate White House meeting with opposition leader María Corina Machado, which analysts interpret as signaling U.S. support for Rodríguez’s interim administration.