VENEZUELA: Maduro confirms ‘first agreements’ with Trump administration

Thank you for reading LatinNews' chosen article from the LatinNews Daily - 3 February 2025

On 1 February US President Donald Trump celebrated the release of six US citizens who had been imprisoned in Venezuela and said that President Nicolás Maduro had agreed to receive deported Venezuelans, following talks between Maduro and the US envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, the previous day.

Analysis:

The Trump administration and Maduro both described the meeting as a success, with Maduro indicating that further discussions could be held soon. The engagement with Maduro came despite the warnings of the Venezuelan opposition, which is concerned that he will be strengthened by any agreement with the US. However, Trump did indicate on 31 January that he would not ease restrictions on Venezuelan oil imports, saying that his predecessor Joe Biden (2021-2025) bought “millions of barrels of oil” from Venezuela and “we’re not going to let that stupid stuff happen”.

• Mauricio Claver-Carone, special envoy for Latin America at the US State Department, said ahead of the meeting that Grenell’s objectives were to persuade Maduro to receive US deportation flights and to secure the release of US prisoners in Venezuela. Progress was made on both fronts. Grenell’s flight back to Washington carried six US citizens who had been imprisoned in Venezuela, while Trump announced on social media that “Venezuela has agreed to receive, back into their country, all Venezuela illegal aliens who were illegally encamped in the US” and that “Venezuela has further agreed to supply the transport back”.
• Maduro described the meeting with Grenell as “positive” and said that “there are issues on which we have reached some first agreements, and, if they are fulfilled, we will move on to new issues”. Maduro said that he had gone into the meeting with the aim of working towards a reset in the tense US-Venezuela relationship.
• Edmundo González, the exiled opposition candidate widely believed to have won the July 2024 Venezuelan election, had urged Trump not to open negotiations with Maduro on migration, warning that this would strengthen Maduro. The opposition’s leader within Venezuela, María Corina Machado, said yesterday that Maduro “is a threat to the security of the hemisphere”.

Looking Ahead: The New York Times reported yesterday that the Trump administration is preparing to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelan migrants, raising the prospect of around 300,000 Venezuelans being deported. The Trump administration had on 29 January cancelled an extension of the TPS which was approved last month under Biden.

If you found today’s article on Trump’s latest Venezuela deal intriguing, this episode of The LatinNews Podcast is a must-listen.

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