Venezuela’s Rodriguez vows release of more prisoners, holds call with Trump

Trump showers acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez with praise after first phone call since the US military’s abduction of President Nicolas Maduro.Published On 15 Jan 2026Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez has pledged to continue releasing prisoners detained under the presidency of Nicolas Maduro and described her first phone call with United States President Donald Trump since Maduro’s abduction by US forces as positive.Rodriguez, Maduro’s former vice ‌president, said on Wednesday that she ⁠had a long, ​productive and courteous ‍phone call with the US president, in ⁠which the two discussed a bilateral agenda that would benefit both countries.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US Senate defeats war powers resolution designed to rein in Trumplist 2 of 4FBI conducts raid on Washington Post reporter’s home, seizes electronicslist 3 of 4Analysis: Why Greenland and Europe might have to offer Trump concessionslist 4 of 4What are Trump’s military options for an attack on Iran?end of listTrump, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said the two discussed oil, minerals, trade and national security, describing how “this partnership” between the US and Venezuela would be “spectacular”.“I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela,” Trump said at the White House after the lengthy call, describing Rodriguez as a “terrific person”, adding that US Secretary of State ‍Marco Rubio had also been in touch with the acting president.Trump’s praise of Rodriguez follows after President Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores, were abducted by the US military in an attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, on January 3. Maduro and Flores are now being held in prison in the US.Trump said last week that a second ⁠wave of US attacks on Venezuela had been cancelled amid “cooperation” from leaders in Caracas, including the release of a large ‍number of prisoners as a sign of “seeking peace” with Washington.Earlier on Wednesday, during her first media briefing since Maduro’s abduction, Rodriguez said Venezuela was entering a “new political moment” and the process of releasing detainees “has not yet concluded”.