Venezuela’s acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, has pledged to continue the release of detainees held under the administration of ousted President Nicolas Maduro, describing her first phone call with United States President Donald Trump as “long, productive and courteous.”
Rodriguez said on Wednesday that the discussion focused on a bilateral agenda aimed at benefiting both countries, adding that the process of freeing detainees “has not yet concluded” as Venezuela enters what she called a “new political moment.”
“This opportunity is for Venezuela and for the people of Venezuela to be able to see reflected a new moment where coexistence, where living together, where recognition of the other allows building and erecting a new spirituality,” she said.
Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said the call covered oil, minerals, trade and national security, describing a potential US–Venezuela partnership as “spectacular.”
“I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump said at the White House, praising Rodriguez as a “terrific person” and noting that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also been in contact with her.
Trump’s comments come weeks after President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were arrested by US forces during an attack on Caracas on January 3 and are currently being held in the United States.
The US president said last week that a second wave of attacks on Venezuela had been cancelled amid “cooperation” from leaders in Caracas, including the release of a large number of prisoners as a sign of “seeking peace” with Washington.
Rodriguez, flanked by National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, also pledged “strict” enforcement of the law while crediting Maduro with initiating the release of detainees.
“Messages of hatred, intolerance, acts of violence will not be permitted,” she said.
On Tuesday, Jorge Rodriguez told parliament that more than 400 detainees had been released in recent days, though rights groups have criticised what they describe as a slow and selective process.
Venezuelan authorities continue to deny holding political prisoners, despite longstanding calls from rights groups, international bodies and opposition figures for their release.
Meanwhile, Trump is expected to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, their first in-person meeting since Maduro’s abduction. Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has offered the award to Trump, though the Nobel Committee has said the prize cannot be transferred.
