Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, arrived in New Jersey late Sunday night ahead of this week’s United Nations General Assembly, where she is expected to sit down with President Donald Trump — a remarkable turn for a leader who took over the country’s socialist government after the U.S. arrest of Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
According to Breitbart, Rodríguez is slated to meet with Trump on Tuesday before delivering her address to the General Assembly later in the week. The encounter would mark one of the highest-level direct engagements between Washington and Caracas in years, following a long stretch of hostile relations under Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez.
Rodríguez announced her arrival in the United States in a social media post, saying she came “with the resolve and hope of a people who believe in the encounter and unity among nations.” She added that at the 81st General Assembly, “Venezuela will be present to make its voice heard and defend its principles, with a work agenda based on respect, cooperation, and understanding.” In a separate post, she said, “We are a country that bets on peace, dialogue, and the construction of shared paths.”
Arrival at Teterboro
Venezuela’s state broadcaster VTV reported that Rodríguez and her delegation touched down at Teterboro Airport in Bergen County, New Jersey, where they were greeted by U.S. Chargé d’affaires to Venezuela John Barrett. According to VTV, the acting president is expected to speak before the UN on Thursday, September 24, with an agenda centered on strengthening “Venezuela’s strategic cooperation ties and peace diplomacy.” The network said Rodríguez would begin her “institutional activities” at the General Assembly on Monday, though the Venezuelan government has not disclosed further details of her schedule.
This year marks the first time a Venezuelan head of state has led the socialist government’s delegation to the General Assembly since Maduro’s last in-person appearance in 2018 — a speech delivered months before he consolidated power through what the source describes as a sham election that year, precipitating a fresh political crisis beginning in 2019.
Maduro, now deposed, is being held several miles from UN headquarters at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he and his wife, Cilia Flores, await trial on multiple drug trafficking charges. Neither Rodríguez nor any member of her government has signaled any intention to visit her imprisoned former boss during her stay in New York, per the source.
The Trump Meeting
Word of the expected Rodríguez-Trump meeting came from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, who said during a briefing call that the encounter would take place on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the president. Reuters reported Waltz’s remarks.
“The president will host a UN General Assembly leaders’ reception. There, he’ll participate in a pull-aside with the acting president Rodríguez of Venezuela,” Waltz said, according to the report.
The meeting would continue a pattern of engagement between Rodríguez and the Trump administration that has accelerated since Maduro’s arrest. Over the past several months, the two countries have signed a series of bilateral agreements, most notably a historic oil deal in August that grants the U.S. control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s reserves — a striking realignment after decades of anti-American policy under Maduro and Chávez.
A Region in Flux
Rodríguez’s trip north came just hours after she met in Caracas on Saturday with Paraguay’s conservative President Santiago Peña — the first high-level encounter between the two nations since Maduro unilaterally severed ties with Paraguay in January 2025, days before what would have been his third six-year term, one that numerous governments refused to recognize following the disputed 2024 election.
Peña described the meeting in a social media post, writing that the two were “working together for a more integrated Paraguay.” He said the talks addressed “fundamental issues such as Venezuela’s institutional process, the strengthening of the economy, and our joint fight against transnational organized crime,” and that the two countries had begun a dialogue on “the eventual restoration of our diplomatic and consular relations.”
Rodríguez characterized the encounter as a “space to resume bilateral ties and build new joint work opportunities for the benefit of our peoples.”
The broader General Assembly session runs from Tuesday, September 22, through Monday, September 28. The United Nations has set this year’s debate theme as “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.” Heads of state and government from around the world are converging on New York for the gathering.
Venezuela’s state-owned and affiliated outlets, including the left-wing network Telesur, noted that the United Nations lists Rodríguez as “Head of State” in official documentation — a designation that underscores how thoroughly the post-Maduro government in Caracas has been folded into the international system it once railed against.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/2026/09/21/venezuelas-delcy-rodriguez-arrives-in-ny-for-un-meeting-will-meet-with-trump/