CIA Director's Visit to Caracas Signals New US Strategy for Venezuela

The Trump administration sent CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Caracas to meet with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez. This meeting occurred on the same day that the U.S. leader received opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House. The meeting between Ratcliffe and Rodriguez, held on the heels of a phone call between Trump and the interim president, was interpreted by opposition circles as an ambiguous gesture and, for some, a political snub. According to an anonymous U.S. official, they discussed issues related to intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and the need for Venezuela to cease being a safe haven for adversaries of Washington, particularly drug trafficking networks. For the White House, Ratcliffe's visit constitutes an explicit endorsement of the power structure led by Rodriguez and a signal of building trust between the two governments. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated his support for a democratic transition and his historical closeness to Machado, though he admitted that, in the short term, Rodriguez is seen as the figure capable of maintaining order and coordinating with the United States. In parallel, Trump has focused on expanding the role of U.S. companies in Venezuela's oil industry, while maintaining a more diffuse discourse on the restoration of democracy. These reports influenced the decision to consider her a figure capable of guaranteeing administrative continuity, control of security forces, and the functioning of the country's basic infrastructure. Rodriguez had previously participated in contacts with Richard Grenell, Trump's special envoy, and other U.S. officials, within the framework of failed attempts to achieve a negotiated exit for Maduro. In those discussions, the possibility of completely dismantling the Venezuelan state apparatus was discarded for fear of repeating mistakes made in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. In that context, preliminary CIA assessments described Rodriguez —then Vice President— as a pragmatic leader, more inclined to negotiate than to hold rigid ideological positions. The visit, the highest-ranking by a U.S. official since the capture of Nicolás Maduro, reinforces Washington's strategy of prioritizing the country's immediate stability over a full opposition transition in the short term. Ratcliffe thus became the first member of the U.S. Cabinet to set foot on Venezuelan soil following the military operation that nearly two weeks ago led to the detention of the former president in the capital. For Washington, the bet seems clear: stability first, transition later, with an eye on avoiding a new focal point of regional chaos. U.S. officials maintain that after Maduro's departure, the priority became preventing a power vacuum or institutional collapse that could lead to widespread violence. This approach began to take shape months ago, when senior U.S. officials were debating how to preserve Venezuelan stability while designing an anti-drug campaign focused on maritime interdiction, which ultimately led to the capture of the former president.