The Presidency of the Republic issued a brief official statement on its portal highlighting the meeting without providing in-depth details, so the real scope of the conversation remains unknown. Photo: Presidential Press.
Guacamaya, February 2, 2026. The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, met this Monday at the Miraflores Palace with the head of the United States Diplomatic Mission for Venezuela, Laura Dogu. The meeting, held in the Presidential Office, opens the door to an agenda of understanding and the recovery of bilateral relations, interrupted since 2019.
Venezuelan Minister of Communication and Information, Miguel Pérez Pirela, confirmed the meeting and described it as part of the “work agenda between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the United States.” The Venezuelan delegation also included the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez; the country’s foreign minister, Yvan Gil; and diplomat Félix Plasencia.
Following the meeting, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil confirmed that Delcy Rodríguez appointed diplomat Félix Plasencia as Venezuela’s official representative to Washington. Plasencia and his team will travel to U.S. territory in the coming days, a concrete step that could formalize direct communication channels after years of confrontation.
Gil emphasized that the dialogue served to “address historical differences and controversies,” reviewing the “agenda of peace and mutual respect.” Strategic issues for both countries were also discussed. “We have talked about energy, political, and economic matters,” Gil added, in a context where Venezuela seeks relief from sanctions while the U.S. presses for reforms.
Meanwhile, U.S. diplomat Laura Dogu, through a message on the account of the U.S. Embassy for Venezuela on X, stated that the meeting reiterated the “three phases” proposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio: stabilization, economic recovery, and reconciliation, followed by a transition toward political change in the country.
The Head of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission arrived in Venezuela on Saturday, January 31, in the afternoon, through the “Simón Bolívar” International Airport in Maiquetía, accompanied by other U.S. representatives, some of whom joined her today in the meeting with the Venezuelan leader. Upon setting foot on Venezuelan soil, she shared on her X account that they were “ready to work.”
The meeting comes at a crucial moment for chavismo, one month after the U.S. military operation on Venezuelan soil that captured President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, who now face charges in New York. The appointment of Plasencia suggests a willingness to negotiate but clashes with Rubio’s roadmap, which ties any relief to a democratic “transition.”
