The Japan Times - Trump praises 'terrific' new Venezuela leader after call

"We just had a great conversation today, and she's a terrific person," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He later said on social media that he and Rodriguez had discussed "many topics," including oil, minerals, trade and national security.

"We are making tremendous progress," Trump said.

After Maduro's capture in a deadly US special forces operation on January 3, Trump said he was content to let his former deputy Rodriguez take over -- as long as she gave the United States access to Venezuelan oil.

He has suggested the United States could maintain oversight of the Caribbean country for years.

Rodriguez has been walking a diplomatic tightrope, trying to meet Trump's demands without alienating Maduro loyalists, who control Venezuela's security forces and feared paramilitaries.

Writing on Telegram, she described her call with the US leader as "productive and courteous" and characterized by "mutual respect."

- 'New political era' -

The 56-year-old added that she and Trump, 79, had discussed a "bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our people, as well as outstanding issues in relations between our governments."

Earlier, she said at her first press conference as interim president that Venezuela was entering a "new political era" marked by greater tolerance for "ideological and political diversity."

Under pressure from Washington, Venezuela has released dozens of political prisoners in the past week, but kept hundreds still behind bars.

Rodriguez claimed a total of 406 political prisoners had been released since December in a process that "has not yet concluded."

The Foro Penal legal rights NGO, which defends many of the detainees, gave a much smaller tally of around 180 freed.

AFP's count, based on data from NGOs and opposition parties, showed 70 people released since the fall of Maduro, who was taken to the United States to face trial for alleged drug trafficking.

Trump has so far sidelined opposition leader Maria Corina Machado from Venezuela's post-Maduro transition, claiming the Nobel Peace Prize laureate does not have enough "respect" in the country.

Machado, who is currently residing outside of Venezuela, will meet Trump on Thursday at the White House to press her demands for the opposition to be given a pre-eminent role.

- Released out of view -

The trickle of prisoner releases continued on Wednesday, with the release of 17 journalists and media workers.

Roland Carreno, a journalist and prominent opposition activist, who was detained in August 2024 during post-election protests, was part of the group.

A leading member of the Popular Will party, he was previously imprisoned between 2020 and 2023 on charges of terrorism -- a charge frequently used to lock up opposition members in Venezuela.

In a video shared by another freed journalist, Carreno called for "peace and reconciliation."

To avoid scenes of jubilant opposition activists punching the air as they walk free from prison, the authorities have been releasing them quietly at other locations, far from the TV cameras and relatives waiting outside detention centers.

Carreno was released at a shopping mall.

Former presidential candidate Enrique Marquez, one of the first to be released, was driven home in a patrol car.

A US State Department official confirmed on Tuesday that Americans have been released, without saying how many or from where.

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Y.Kimura--JT