The Chavista leader, described by the president as a “fantastic person,” announced a new political moment in Venezuela and said that 400 people have been released from prison.
EFE (via 14ymedio), Washington / Caracas, 15 January 2026 — United States President Donald Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado will have lunch this Thursday at the White House to discuss the situation in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
According to the US president’s official agenda, the lunch will be held at 12:30 Washington time in a private dining room of the White House and will take place behind closed doors, without access for the press.
The meeting, the first between the two, will take place less than two weeks after the United States ousted Maduro during an attack in Venezuela on January 3 in which the Chavista leader and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and taken to New York to be tried for drug trafficking.
During her visit, Machado will be accompanied by a large group of collaborators gathered in the Comando Con Venezuela the most visible face of which is the former mayor of El Hatillo, David Smolansky, well connected with Marco Rubio’s circle and with Republican members of congress from Florida incuding María Elvira Salazar and Carlos Giménez.
During her visit, Machado will be accompanied by a large group of collaborators involved in the Commando Con Venezuela
In addition, this week Leopoldo López, the former mayor of Chacao and founder of the opposition party Popular Will, was in Washington, while Juan Guaidó, recognized by part of the international community as the interim president of Venezuela between 2019 and 2023, gave numerous interviews to US media from Florida, where he now resides.
The meeting comes a day after the president praised interim president Delcy Rodríguez following a phone call. “We had an excellent conversation today, and she’s a fantastic person. In fact, she’s someone we’ve worked very well with,” Trump declared in the Oval Office of the White House. The call was “long,” the Republican leader indicated, adding that they covered “many topics” and that he is getting along “very well with Venezuela.”
According to sources consulted by EFE, the former Venezuelan ambassador to the United Kingdom, Félix Plasencia, is also in Washington to work on the new relations between Washington and Caracas that led to that conversation.
Later, Trump reiterated the same idea on his social media account, Truth Social, where he said: “This morning I had a very good call with the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez. We are making tremendous progress as we help Venezuela stabilize and recover.” In the conversation, he said, they discussed “many topics, including oil, minerals, trade, and, of course, national security.”
“This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more so than ever before!” he added.
Shortly afterwards, Rodríguez herself confirmed the information and announced the beginning of a “new political moment” in her country, after stating that more than 400 political prisoners had been released.
“The message is a Venezuela that is opening up to a new political moment that allows for understanding from divergence and from political and ideological diversity,” declared the acting president from Miraflores, who appeared before national and foreign journalists flanked by her brother and the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello.
However, she conditioned this new phase on its being carried out with “respect for others” and “for human rights.” “Messages of hate, intolerance, and acts of violence will not be permitted,” she concluded.
Delcy Rodríguez affirmed on Telegram that her conversation with Trump was “productive and courteous.” “We discussed a bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our people, as well as outstanding issues in the relationship between our governments,” she noted.
We addressed a bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our people, as well as outstanding issues in the relationship between our Governments.”
The conversation took place after authorities from both countries announced last week that they had begun an “exploratory process” to rehabilitate their formal diplomatic channels.
Rodríguez also asserted that the process of releasing people who were imprisoned, which she attributed to Maduro, “remains open,” since, she said, “it began last December with 194 releases.” “As of this day,” she added, “we can say that there are already 406 releases planned for these days.” According to her, this “arduous” process is being led by Cabello.
In December, the Ministry for the Penitentiary Service announced the release of 88 people on Christmas Day and another 99 on January 1st, of which local NGOs verified about half. From last Thursday until 2:30 p.m. local time this Wednesday, the United Democratic Platform (PUD), which brings together the main opposition, had verified 100 releases.
For its part, the NGO Foro Penal confirmed 72 releases as of 1:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Jorge Rodríguez made the “lists” available, which have not yet been made public, a fact demanded by NGOs, activists, family members, and political parties.
Among those released are 19 journalists and media workers, out of a total of 24 that the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) had reported as detained. According to the union’s list, five journalists remain in custody, including former opposition congressman Juan Pablo Guanipa, a known ally of Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado.
Among those released is a group of 19 journalists and social communicators, out of a total of 24 that the National Union of Press Workers
One of those released is Roland Carreño, also an activist with the opposition party Popular Will (VP), who was arrested on August 2, 2024. This was the second time, as he had already been arrested on October 26, 2020 and released on October 18, 2023, following an agreement signed at that time between Chavismo and the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) in Barbados.
For his part, the archbishop of the Venezuelan city of Barquisimeto (west), Monsignor Polito Rodríguez, applauded the recent releases of political prisoners, but asserted that “many others still need to be freed.” “It will be a gesture of reconciliation and justice if they are released as soon as possible,” the prelate stated during the massive gathering for the 168th procession of the Divina Pastora, patron saint of Barquisimeto, capital of Lara state (west).
Outside some of the prisons where political prisoners are being held, family members and activists are maintaining vigils to demand the full freedom of all of them, which the NGO Foro Penal estimated to be 806 individuals as of January 5.
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