Venezuelan interim president set to visit United States

ISTANBUL

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, is set to visit the United States, becoming the first sitting Venezuelan leader to do so in more than a quarter century, a senior US official said Tuesday, signaling a shift in relations between Washington and Caracas.

According to the senior White House official, no date has yet been set for Rodriguez’s visit.

Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president following a US military strike on Jan. 3 that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, after months of escalating tensions over alleged drug trafficking.

Speaking Wednesday, Rodriguez said she was approaching dialogue with the United States “without fear,” emphasizing diplomacy as the preferred path to address longstanding disputes.

“We are in a process of dialogue, of working with the United States, without any fear, to confront our differences and difficulties, and to address them through diplomacy,” said Rodriguez, who previously served as vice president and oil minister.

The planned visit signals a potential turnaround in relations between the US and Venezuela after years of hostility and sanctions.

Despite the diplomatic opening, Rodriguez remains under US sanctions, including an asset freeze.

The last visit by a sitting Venezuelan president to the United States took place in 1989, when then-President Carlos Andres Perez was in office.

Earlier, Rodriguez addressed lawmakers on the possibility of traveling to Washington, saying that if required to do so, she would represent the Venezuelan people “standing tall” and with sovereign dignity.