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Date: September 26, 2026
Reporter: Emilly Jordan
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez returned from a high-profile visit to the United States without securing major agreements on debt, energy or mining and without providing a firm date for the elections she has promised as part of the country’s transition to what she described as “full democracy.”
Rodríguez travelled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly seeking to demonstrate that Venezuela, once heavily sanctioned and isolated internationally, was reopening to foreign investment and rebuilding relations with the United States and other governments. She held meetings with American officials, international financial institutions and business representatives and appeared alongside U.S. President Donald Trump, but no major financial or commercial agreements were announced by the end of the visit.
The trip was Rodríguez’s first visit to the United States since U.S. forces captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. Reuters reported that the visit demonstrated the extent of Washington’s influence over Venezuela’s interim government, while also highlighting Caracas’ need to establish new international relationships under Trump’s administration.
Rodríguez had entered the week with an ambitious agenda. Venezuelan officials were seeking progress on restructuring the country’s debt, restoring the energy industry and attracting investment into mining and oil. Venezuela announced in May that it would begin restructuring its sovereign debt and the debt of state oil company PDVSA, with analysts estimating the combined obligations at between $150 billion and $200 billion.
Before Rodríguez’s arrival, Venezuelan officials had also been holding discussions with U.S. companies over energy and mining projects. Agreements or preliminary arrangements had involved Continental Resources, Heeney Capital and TotalEnergies, while negotiations concerning a possible return by ExxonMobil to Venezuela’s oil industry were also reported.
But despite those discussions, no new major package of agreements emerged from the New York visit. Washington-based analyst Antonio De La Cruz told Reuters that the visit generated considerable attention but produced relatively few concrete results, pointing to the absence of major disbursements, reconstruction financing or business deals.
One potential source of financing is the Inter-American Development Bank, which is working toward approval of a $2.5 billion bridge loan for Venezuela. However, Reuters reported that some members of the bank’s board oppose the proposed loan, meaning the financing had not been finalized during Rodríguez’s visit.
Political transition was another central issue. Rodríguez told the United Nations that Venezuela would hold elections as part of a process toward full democracy, but she did not announce a date for the vote.
The lack of a timetable has increasingly become a concern for Venezuelan opposition groups and political analysts. Reuters reported that Rodríguez had avoided providing signals about an election for roughly nine months, while U.S. officials had previously cautioned that organizing a credible vote would take time. Experts cited by Reuters estimate that establishing reliable electoral authorities and preparing the voting process could take at least 12 months.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said after Rodríguez’s meeting with Trump that Washington had pressed her government on political change. Rubio said the process would ultimately need to culminate in a free and fair election.
Rodríguez’s visit also illustrated the complicated political relationships surrounding Venezuela’s transition. Leaders who had previously maintained close ties with Maduro kept their distance during the UN gathering. The Cuban delegation left the General Assembly chamber when Trump criticized Cuba during his speech, while Rodríguez remained in the room.
Reuters also reported that officials from Caracas and Havana largely avoided each other during the gathering, despite Cuba having been one of Maduro’s closest international allies.
Russia, meanwhile, sought discussions with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia about its interests in Venezuelan oil projects. Russia’s state-owned Roszarubezhneft has an interest in the Petromonagas development, and Reuters reported that ExxonMobil has been negotiating a possible return to the project. Russian officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the region’s most prominent left-wing leader, also commented on the political transition. Speaking to CNN, Lula said the United States was treating Rodríguez as though Washington were her boss and said that, in her position, he would call elections. His comments reflected broader regional debate over the extent of U.S. influence over Venezuela’s new political authorities.
Outside the United Nations, more than 50 protesters demonstrated against Rodríguez, carrying signs criticizing her government and chanting that she should join Maduro in a U.S. jail. Maduro is being held in Brooklyn pending trial following his capture in January.
The visit also drew attention to Venezuela’s opposition movement. While Rodríguez was in the United States, reports indicated that opposition leader María Corina Machado was again prevented from returning to Venezuela from Panama. Machado could be a potential candidate if an election is eventually held.
The uncertainty surrounding the election timetable has therefore become one of the most important unresolved issues following Rodríguez’s trip. Washington has supported a political transition while seeking to reshape Venezuela’s economy and energy industry, but the interim government has yet to establish when Venezuelans will actually be able to vote.
Rodríguez nevertheless secured significant international visibility during the week. She met officials from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, held talks concerning debt restructuring and economic recovery, and appeared publicly with Trump.
The visit also demonstrated the scale of the challenge facing Venezuela. The country needs substantial financing to rebuild its economy and energy infrastructure, while creditors, investors and foreign governments are seeking clarity about the legal and political environment in which they would operate.
For now, Rodríguez has returned to Venezuela with discussions underway but without the major financial or commercial agreements that had been anticipated and without a firm election date. The next stage of the transition will depend heavily on whether Caracas can convert the diplomatic contacts made in New York into financing, investment and a credible timetable for elections.