Reported from the source

Quick summary: US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to meet with interim leader Delcy Rodriguez for approximately two hours, a US official confirmed Friday. The visit, described as a “trust-building measure,” aimed to discuss potential opportunities for economic collaboration and an improved working relationship following the ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.

CIA chief John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela’s interim leader Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas on Thursday, less than two weeks after the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro. The meeting, which lasted about two hours, was directed by President Donald Trump and marked the highest-level American visit to Venezuela since Maduro’s fall. A Trump administration official, speaking anonymously, stated that Director Ratcliffe delivered a message expressing the United States’ desire for an improved working relationship. Discussions included “potential opportunities for economic collaboration” and the expectation that Venezuela “can no longer be a safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narcotraffickers.” The visit was coordinated among the White House, US State Department, and the Pentagon. It followed a phone call between President Trump and Rodriguez the day prior, and occurred on the same day Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace prize at the White House. Trump has supported Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice president, to remain in charge provided Venezuelan oil continues to flow.

Source: www.france24.com