Venezuela's Interim President Reportedly Pledged To Cooperate With The U.S. And Said She Would Welcome Maduro's Departure

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez and her brother Jorge secretly pledged to work with the U.S. if Nicolas Maduro was removed, according to a new report.

The Guardian noted that the assurance from the Rodriguez siblings came before Maduro was captured by U.S. forces on January 3. They added that his removal would be a welcome outcome. "She said, 'I'll work with whatever is the aftermath,'" a source detailed.

The outlet added that communications between the then-Vice President and U.S. officials through Qatari intermediaries began in the fall and continued after President Donald Trump urged Maduro to leave Venezuela in a phone call in November, a possibility he rejected.

All sources quoted by the outlet noted that the siblings offered to work with U.S. authorities if Maduro was removed but didn't help to do so, clarifying that they did not collaborate to topple him.

Trump quickly announced that Delcy Rodriguez would be Venezuela's interim president after the operation. He has since said the administrations are "getting along very well" and that she is "giving us everything that we feel is necessary."

Trump told The New York Post earlier in January that his administration expects to maintain direct oversight of the government in Caracas for an extended period, noting that it will last "much longer than a year." Trump also declined to set a specific timeline for the involvement, saying his government plans to extract and sell Venezuelan oil while providing funds back to the country.

U.S. intelligence officials had described Rodriguez as a pragmatic political figure capable of working with Washington, according to assessments cited after a rare visit to Caracas by C.I.A. Director John Ratcliffe.

According to a U.S. official familiar with the discussions, Ratcliffe was dispatched at Trump's direction to signal interest in an improved working relationship. The talks covered intelligence cooperation, economic stability and preventing Venezuela from becoming a "safe haven for America's adversaries, especially narco-traffickers," the official said.

The engagement reflects deliberations that began last summer, when senior U.S. officials debated how to remove Maduro without triggering instability. Rodriguez's involvement is part of the broader strategy, which officials told The New York Times sought to prevent repeating the mistakes made in Iraq after the U.S. dismantled state institutions, a move widely blamed for years of insurgency.

As part of those discussions, the C.I.A. produced an early assessment portraying Rodríguez, then vice president, as a negotiator rather than an ideologue. One intelligence report noted that she wore a $15,000 dress to her inauguration, prompting an official to remark that "she is a socialist but the most capitalistic one I've seen."