Delcy Rodriguez calls for opening the oil industry to foreign investment and strengthening US relations

Under pressure from the United States to cooperate with its plans to reshape Venezuela’s sanctioned oil industry, Maduro’s former vice president announced that “a new policy is being shaped in Venezuela.”

She urged foreign diplomats in attendance to tell investors abroad about the changes and called on lawmakers to approve oil sector reforms that would secure foreign companies’ access to Venezuela’s vast reserves.

“Venezuela, which has free trade relations with the world, can sell the products of its energy industry,” she said.

The Trump administration said it plans to control future oil export revenues to ensure the Venezuelan people benefit.

Read more: The United States and Venezuela are taking tentative steps toward restoring relations after Maduro’s arrest

In this context, Rodriguez described money from oil sales flowing into two sovereign wealth funds, one to support crisis-stricken health services and the other to bolster public infrastructure, much of which was built under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, and which has since deteriorated.

These days, the country’s hospitals are so ill-equipped that patients are required to have the supplies needed for their care, from syringes to surgical screws.

While Rodriguez criticized the US arrest of Maduro and referred to a “stain on our relations,” she also encouraged the resumption of diplomacy between the two historical rivals. Her terse, 44-minute speech and soothing tone were a stark contrast to the fiery statements her predecessors made against American imperialism that often lasted for hours.

“Let’s not be afraid of diplomacy,” Rodriguez said. “I ask that politics not change, and that it not start with hatred and intolerance.”

The previous day, she gave a 4-minute briefing to the media to say that her government would continue to release prisoners detained under Maduro’s harsh rule. But human rights groups have only verified a small portion of the releases they claim occurred.

Read more: Venezuela’s acting president pledges to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro

Rodriguez appears to be inserting a needle.

A photo of Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, was displayed next to her as she spoke. She called on the US government to “respect the dignity” of Maduro, who is being held in a Brooklyn prison after he pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges. She portrayed herself as defending Venezuela’s sovereignty even as the country warmed to the United States with dizzying speed.

“If one day, as acting president, I have to go to Washington, I will do it standing, walking, without being dragged,” she said. “I will stand tall… never crawl.”

Rodriguez delivered her speech while Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate Maria Corina Machado met with President Donald Trump in Washington.

He watches: Maria Corina Machado holds a press conference after presenting the Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump

Since Maduro’s ouster, Trump has kept Machado out of discussions about the country’s political fate while embracing Rodriguez, praising the longtime Maduro loyalist as a “wonderful person” after making his first known phone call with her on Wednesday.

Machado, whose party is believed to have won the tumultuous 2024 presidential election despite Maduro’s claims of victory, said she presented a Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump during their closed-door conversation.

After leaving the White House, she was greeted by dozens of cheering supporters. “We can count on President Trump,” she told them, without going into details.

Its role in Venezuelan politics remains uncertain as Rodriguez’s government has been effectively exempted from having to hold elections for the foreseeable future.

Machado’s meeting with Trump did not receive any coverage in Venezuela.

The country’s state-run television continues to broadcast a steady stream of pro-government images, including various statements from Iranian and Russian officials denouncing “US aggression” and blanket coverage of state-organized rallies demanding Maduro’s return.

He watches: Venezuelans are preparing for a new political era after the ouster of Maduro

On Thursday, crowds of teachers marched through the streets of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, carrying banners condemning the United States for “kidnapping” Maduro, and chanting pro-government slogans. National police in riot gear were everywhere. Pro-government graffiti was written on the city’s walls, saying: “Doubt is treason.”

“They have maintained the same anti-imperialist rhetoric, but in a more moderate form,” said David Smilde, a Venezuela expert at Tulane University who has studied Venezuela for 30 years. “Their idea is to give Trump everything he wants economically, while staying the course politically.”

On the streets of central Caracas, most Venezuelans spending their days refused to be interviewed about their opinions, fearing government retaliation with Maduro’s security apparatus remaining intact. Others were simply at a loss about what to say about their country’s strange new reality, in which the United States claimed to be the decider.

“It’s a whole sea of ​​uncertainty, and the only person who now has the authority to make decisions is the United States government,” said Pablo Rojas, 28, a music producer.

He said he was closely monitoring Trump’s meeting with Machado “to see if she will take a leadership position, and whether they consider her ready to lead the country or run.” He shook his head in confusion. “It’s impossible to know what will happen.”

Associated Press writers Isabel Debre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.