Since assuming office as Venezuela’s interim president in January following the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces, Delcy Rodríguez has operated under significant constraints imposed by the United States, which controls her nation’s oil revenues. This arrangement requires Rodríguez to seek approval from U.S. officials, including a young State Department official, before accessing funds derived from Venezuela’s oil sales.

Rodríguez’s deference to Washington has included handing over a substantial portion—estimated at one-fifth—of Venezuela’s oil reserves to a private company partially owned by the U.S. Department of Defense. Analysts view Rodríguez’s upcoming diplomatic engagements as a culmination of what has been described as a transactional relationship with the Trump administration. In New York, Rodríguez was scheduled to meet President Donald Trump for the first direct talks between the two countries’ leaders since 2015, followed by her address to the United Nations General Assembly—the first in-person speech by a Venezuelan leader at the U.N. since 2018.

The timing and nature of Rodríguez’s visit are seen as efforts to consolidate her authority domestically. Experts argue that the closer she aligns with Trump, the more leverage she gains to delay elections that might threaten her position. Political scientist Orlando Pérez noted that Rodríguez's cooperation on oil-related matters aligns with Trump’s pragmatic and transactional approach to leadership.

This political dynamic contrasts sharply with the situations of other key Venezuelan figures. Maduro remains incarcerated in a Brooklyn jail on drug-trafficking charges, which he denies, while opposition leader María Corina Machado remains in exile in Panama, unable to return to Venezuela and witnessing a decline in her support base.

The opposition expresses concern that Rodríguez’s accommodation of U.S. demands resembles a form of capitulation rather than the liberation promised following Maduro’s ouster. Washington has controlled Venezuela’s oil revenues since January and established a list of permissible expenditures, which exclude payments to Chinese or Russian companies operating in the country. These financial decisions are overseen by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs—a unit previously led by Caleb Orr, a 32-year-old official with ties to Senator Marco Rubio.

While the Trump administration has not publicly disclosed the details of the funds collected and disbursed, U.S. officials assert that the system aims to prevent corruption but also functions as a means of political influence. Energy Secretary Chris Wright acknowledged the substantial leverage the U.S. holds over Venezuela’s oil exports, which contributed to a recent deal granting the U.S. a 35 percent stake in North American Blue Energy Partners. This company, owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt—who has faced allegations of corruption, which he denies—is expected to deliver 20 percent of its oil production to the U.S. at cost. This arrangement is intended to boost investment in Venezuela’s oil industry.

In exchange for this cooperation, Rodríguez has received public praise from President Trump, who described her as “very highly respected” and indicated that while she supports elections, the country is not yet ready for them. Rodríguez, former vice-president under Maduro, navigated a tense transition in early January marked by her temporary disappearance from public view and subsequent consultations with Washington. She has since eliminated some rivals, secured military support by removing top leaders, and overcome constitutional questions regarding her extended interim presidency, which officially expired in July.

Despite low approval ratings—recent polls show a negative 36 percent—Rodríguez appears focused on postponing elections, potentially aiming to position herself as a technocratic successor to Hugo Chávez who maintains favorable relations with the U.S. Negotiations between the government and opposition, supported by Senator Rubio, aim to establish an election roadmap, potentially finalized by December. However, many opposition figures remain wary. Henrique Capriles, a leading opposition voice still in Venezuela, criticized the approach as unrealistic, questioning how economic recovery can be discussed with individuals linked to previous mismanagement of the oil sector.

Pérez warns that Rodríguez’s deepening importance to the Trump administration could delay electoral negotiations. He noted that Trump currently feels little pressure from those advocating for an election timetable, signaling the potential for prolonged political uncertainty in Venezuela.