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Venezuelasaid the acting president Nicolas Maduro remains the country’s ‘legitimate’ leader, despite being in US custody on federal drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.
“I can tell you that President Nicolás Maduro is a legitimate president,” Delcy Rodriguez of Venezuela said in an interview with NBC News.
Maduro has pleaded not guilty to the charges in January.
Along with the comments, Rodriguez continues to argue that last month’s US operation to capture Maduro was a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, even as the Trump administration says it is cooperating with their efforts to rebuild Venezuela’s vast oil industry.
US forces transferred Maduro and his wife to New York to face drug conspiracy charges. Rodriguez said in an interview that the Maduros are “innocent.”
Rodriguez met with Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Wednesday in Caracas.
Wright is expected to meet with government officials, oil executives and others during a three-day visit to the South American country.
Wright’s visit comes during the administration of the US president Donald Trump continues to lift sanctions to allow foreign companies to operate in Venezuela and help rebuild the country’s most important industry. It follows last month’s passage of a Venezuelan law that opened up the nation’s oil sector to private investment, reversing the tenets of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has ruled the country for more than two decades.
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“Today I bring a message from President Trump,” Wright told reporters as he stood next to Rodríguez with the flags of both countries behind them.
“He is passionately committed to absolutely transforming the relationship between the United States and Venezuela, which is part of a larger plan to make America great again, to bring our countries closer together, to bring trade, peace, prosperity, jobs and opportunity to the people of Venezuela.”
Rodríguez was sworn into her new role after the brazenness The capture of then President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 in a US military attack in Caracas. She proposed an overhaul of the country’s energy law after Trump said his administration would take control of Venezuela’s oil exports and revitalize the ailing industry by attracting foreign investment.
Rodríguez acknowledged Wednesday that Venezuela’s relationship with the U.S. has had “ups and downs,” but said both countries are now working on a mutually beneficial “energy program.”
“Let diplomatic dialogue … and energy dialogue be appropriate and convenient channels for the US and Venezuela to maturely decide how to move forward,” she said.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
