Ric Grenell, former acting director of National Intelligence, speaks during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg)
An adviser for US President Donald Trump is set to meet with officials from the government of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, part of an early effort at engaging with the sanctioned leader of the oil-rich nation.
Richard Grenell, whom Trump tapped as presidential envoy for special missions, will push for the swift release of American prisoners during his visit, Mauricio Claver-Carone, special envoy to Latin America, told reporters Friday during a call.
Grenell will also discuss sending Venezuelan gang members back to the country, Claver-Carone said.
The meetings come at a tense time in relations between Washington and Caracas. Maduro, who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, recently got sworn in for another term amid widespread evidence of election fraud.
Maduro survived the first Trump administration’s maximum pressure strategy, even as it curbed the nation’s oil exports, and also outlasted an effort by Biden officials to facilitate free and fair elections. Some key Trump advisers have advocated for a return to the more aggressive posture.
In a social-media post Friday, Florida Senator Rick Scott urged Grenell to push Maduro to receive deported migrants from the US and for Maduro to leave Venezuela, in addition to pushing for the release of prisoners.
At least seven Americans have been arrested in Venezuela since the July presidential vote. The Americans were accused of being involved in conspiracies against the Maduro government, including an attempt to kill him and other authorities.
During Trump’s first term, Grenell also played a behind-the-scenes role in delicate talks with Maduro allies in a bid to negotiate the leader’s peaceful exit from power.
