CIA Director May Have Met Venezuela’s Interim President

News agency Reuters Today, citing unnamed US officials, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe followed instructions from President Donald Trump and went to Venezuela’s capital Caracas to meet with interim President Delcy Rodriguez.

The meeting was intended to “convey the message that the United States looks forward to improved cooperation” with Venezuela. Interim President Rodriguez and the CIA director apparently discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stabilization and ensuring that Venezuela “is no longer a safe haven for drug traffickers.”

According to US officials, the meeting lasted two hours, focusing on building trust between Washington and Caracas.

US and Venezuelan officials have not yet commented on the information.

President Trump also had a phone call with interim President Rodriguez on January 14. Both leaders described this as a positive discussion.

Ms. Rodriguez was appointed interim President of Venezuela after the US launched a raid campaign to arrest President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3.

Venezuela’s interim leader has recently given many mixed signals about his readiness to cooperate with the US. On the one hand, she always fiercely criticized the US campaign as illegal and resolutely opposed foreign intervention, on the other hand she still accepted negotiations with Washington on oil and studied resuming diplomatic relations.