After the fall of Maduro, the USA is trying diplomacy again: On Thursday, Trump received the Venezuelan opposition leader in the White House – while his CIA chief met someone else in Caracas.
John Ratcliffe trifft Delcy Rodríguez
According to media reports, CIA chief John Ratcliffe met Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez. From the US perspective, the aim of the meeting in Caracas on Thursday was to send a sign of trust and cooperation between the two governments, CNN and the New York Times reported, citing US officials.
It is also seen by observers as a further signal that the government of US President Donald Trump sees a government led by Rodríguez in Venezuela as the best option, at least in the short term, to ensure stability in the South American country. According to the New York Times, Ratcliffe is the highest-ranking US official to have visited Venezuela since the US attack on the country and the ouster and capture of the authoritarian head of state Nicolás Maduro.
“Improved working relationship”
The meeting took place at the direction of US President Trump to “deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,” the newspaper quoted an unnamed US official as saying. Topics included cooperation on intelligence information and economic stability.
Nobel Prize winner Machado is not an option for Trump
Trump recently expressed satisfaction with Venezuela’s current leadership. After a phone call with Rodríguez, he called her a great person. At the same time, Trump also received Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, who is fighting for her future role in Venezuela. During her visit, she presented Trump with her gold medal for the Nobel Peace Prize – even though the Nobel Prize Institute had previously made it clear that a Nobel Prize could not be passed on.
While Trump’s meeting with Machado was still ongoing, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt made it clear when asked that the US President still does not see the opposition leader as a promising successor to Maduro. Trump had previously stated that, in his view, she had neither the necessary support nor the necessary respect in the country. (DPA)
