Overview
- Delivering a 44-minute speech to the National Assembly, the acting president urged engagement with the United States, said she was not afraid of a diplomatic confrontation, and asked Washington to respect Nicolás Maduro’s dignity.
- She proposed opening the oil sector to greater foreign investment and ordered the creation of two sovereign funds to channel crude revenues into health services, worker income support, and infrastructure.
- Rodríguez confirmed a phone call with President Trump, who praised her publicly and said they discussed oil, minerals, trade, and national security.
- The White House says it will control future Venezuelan oil revenues, with Semafor reporting the first U.S.-managed sale at about $500 million and some proceeds held in Qatar.
- Rodríguez said prisoner releases will continue, though human-rights groups have verified only a fraction of those she claims, and Trump separately met opposition leader María Corina Machado in Washington.