Overview
- President Donald Trump said he held a lengthy call with interim president Delcy Rodríguez, praised her as “fantastic,” and touted progress on oil, minerals, trade and security talks.
- Rodríguez confirmed the conversation as respectful and work‑focused, and announced 406 prisoner releases, a figure that human‑rights groups have challenged as unverified and likely overstated.
- The White House scheduled a private lunch today with opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado, who is in Washington seeking a role for the opposition in any transition.
- Venezuelan emissary Félix Plasencia was reported as set to travel to Washington to discuss reopening the Venezuelan embassy as both sides explore restoring formal diplomatic channels.
- Trump has framed U.S. policy as stabilization under U.S. guidance, with announced agreements to receive Venezuelan crude, even as questions over domestic legitimacy and accountability persist.