In his first-ever meeting with Venezuela's new leader, President Trump emphasized the need to keep oil flowing, relations warm and that country's elections on the horizon, White House sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Trump did not insist on a future election date in his meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez, but he emphasized their importance as a crucial final step in Venezuela's evolution into a full-fledged democracy, the sources said.
- "You have to have elections at the end of the day," Trump said to Rodriguez at one point, one of the sources briefed on the meeting said.
Zoom in: Trump held the roughly 15-minute meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to thank Rodriguez for their good working relationship after the U.S. ousted her one-time socialist ally, Nicolas Maduro, on Jan. 3.
- Since then, the Trump administration has struck oil and gold-mining deals with Venezuela, which had been a U.S. adversary for more than a quarter-century.
- Venezuela has one of the world's largest sovereign debt problems of $300 billion — larger than its gross domestic product — which needs to be restructured before the country holds elections, U.S. officials say.
- "The country can't succeed until that is solved," a White House official said.
What they're saying: "We held a historic meeting with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, with whom we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, and security," Rodriguez posted Tuesday night on X.
- The post included a photo of Rodriguez holding up two fingers in a "V" (for Venezuela) and Trump giving his characteristic thumbs-up.
Friction point: The photo outraged the small but vocal Venezuelan diaspora community in the U.S., where critics want to hear more about Venezuela elections and less about deals.
- On the same day Trump and Rodriguez met, allies of Venezuela opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Marina Corina Machado went public to complain that she has been blocked from re-entering the country.
- In the Miami area, home to both Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a sizable population of Venezuelan exiles and expats, former Democratic Senate candidate and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell, posted the image on X and urged people to register to vote.
- "Tell every single member of the South Florida delegation that you are done with the lies and the blatant corruption. No Mas!" she wrote.
Between the lines: The U.S. wants Venezuela's elections to be called by Venezuelans via the country's new National Reconciliation Council, which represents various political parties in the country. It's a three-step plan:
- Change the composition of the Venezuelan Supreme Court to make it more representative of the country. The opposition is going to get to nominate justices, an official said.
- Reform the National Electoral Commission to ensure there's not a repeat of 2024, when it manipulated the vote count and stole the election from Edmundo González on Maduro's behalf.
- Announce an election date. Trump, however, pointedly did not say when he wants that to be.
Inside the room: Trump and Rodriguez were joined by two Venezuelan officials as well as Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
- Trump did most of the talking and also regaled Rodriguez with a description of the precision U.S. military operation that ousted Maduro.
- "It was warm. It was friendly. But it was also direct," one of the sources said about Trump's discussion of the importance of future elections.
- "She acknowledged it. She said she wants elections too," the source said.
Zoom out: The multiple challenges Venezuela is facing from the legacy of socialist mismanagement to the earthquakes that damaged the country this summer make calling an election date even more complicated, U.S. officials say.
- "We don't want to have an election, have a democratically elected government take over and inherit an economic catastrophe within six months," said one.
- "A democratic government is going to be facing massive street protests over inflation, the economy. It could threaten the entire thing."
The intrigue: By process of elimination, insiders say a Venezuelan election in the summer or fall of 2028 makes more sense because it would give the country more time to repair its finances and electoral system.
- Trump also would like to leave office with the legacy of removing a dictator, fixing a country and fostering democracy — but he might want to wait until the final months in office so the U.S. could still exert outsized influence on Rodriguez's government.
- Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has called for Venezuela to hold elections on July 24, 2027, but Trump administration officials and allies say that might be too early.
- "If it can be in '27, that would be great. We would like that," an official said, cautioning that Venezuelans need to lead and need to fix their debt problem first.
- "Whether the date for those conditions to be met are 2027 versus 2028 is still up in the air," the official said. "It certainly can't go on indefinitely."
