CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Caracas on Thursday, January 16, 2026, for a two-hour meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez, marking the highest-level US official visit to the country since American forces captured former dictator Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. The meeting, conducted at President Trump's direction, signals a significant shift in US-Venezuela relations.
Ratcliffe's visit was aimed at delivering a message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship with Venezuela's new leadership. According to US officials, the discussions covered intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and ensuring that Venezuela would no longer serve as a safe haven for what Washington describes as America's adversaries, particularly narco-traffickers who have long operated in the region.
The meeting was designed to build trust between the two governments, reflecting the CIA director's emphasis on human intelligence gathering and his push for the agency to be less risk-averse in its diplomatic engagements. Rodriguez, who spoke with President Trump during a phone call on Wednesday, assumed the role of interim leader following Maduro's capture by American forces in a covert operation that had been planned for months.
The capture of Maduro was facilitated by a small CIA team that had been covertly installed inside Venezuela to track his patterns, locations, and movements. The assets included a CIA source operating within the Venezuelan government who provided crucial intelligence about Maduro's whereabouts ahead of the operation. Trump administration officials have insisted this was not a regime change operation since the Venezuelan government remains largely intact under Rodriguez's leadership.
President Trump has shown notable support for Rodriguez, a longtime insider in the Maduro regime, over opposition leader María Corina Machado, who met with the president on Thursday in a separate engagement. Trump has stated that the US will effectively help run the country, particularly regarding its oil production, asserting American influence over Venezuela's vast petroleum reserves.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions in the region and questions about Venezuela's future political trajectory. Critics have raised concerns about Washington's decision to work with Rodriguez rather than supporting democratic opposition figures. However, administration officials argue that maintaining stability and securing cooperation on security matters, particularly combating drug trafficking, takes precedence in the current geopolitical environment.
The meeting represents a dramatic evolution in US-Venezuela relations, which had been marked by sanctions, diplomatic expulsions, and mutual hostility during Maduro's rule. Whether this new chapter will lead to lasting stability or further controversy remains to be seen as the Trump administration navigates its unprecedented influence over the South American nation.