ISTANBUL

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez in Caracas on Thursday, in a rare high-level engagement since US forces captured President Nicolas Maduro in a military intervention earlier this month, The New York Times reported.

The visit followed a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Rodriguez a day earlier, and coincided with Trump’s meeting in Washington, DC, with Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado.

US officials said Ratcliffe conveyed the Trump administration’s support for the interim government as a path to short-term stability in Venezuela.

At Trump’s direction, Ratcliffe delivered a message that Washington seeks an improved working relationship, they said. Talks included intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and efforts to keep Venezuela from serving as a haven for “US adversaries, particularly narcotics traffickers,” one official said on condition of anonymity.

According to the report, American officials view Rodriguez, who assumed the interim presidency after Maduro’s removal, as a stabilizing figure capable of maintaining control of security forces and key infrastructure during the transition. US intelligence assessments have described her as pragmatic and open to engagement.

US priorities since Maduro’s ouster have focused on preventing instability in Venezuela, officials said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reiterated support for a transition to democracy, while acknowledging that much of the opposition remains outside the country.