presidential

Mérida, February 2, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez met with US Chargé d’Affaires Laura Dogu in Miraflores Presidential Palace on Monday afternoon.

According to Communications Minister Miguel Pérez Pirela, the meeting took place “in the context of the working agenda” between Caracas and Washington. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez was likewise present.

Dogu confirmed the high-level audience with Venezuelan leaders via social media, saying that she reiterated Washington’s intended “three-phase plan” for the Caribbean nation.

“Today I met with Delcy Rodríguez and Jorge Rodríguez to reiterate the three phases that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has proposed for Venezuela: stabilization, economic recovery and reconciliation, and transition,” she said.

The US diplomat arrived in Caracas on Saturday, vowing that her team is “ready to work.” US State Department officials had visited the Venezuelan capital previously to assess conditions for the reopening of the US embassy.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil was the first high-ranking official to meet with Dogu, writing that the country’s authorities are looking to work on “issues of bilateral interest” with US counterparts. On Monday, Gil announced that Félix Plasencia will be Venezuela’s diplomatic representative in the US and will travel to Washington in the coming days.

This diplomatic rapprochement follows the January 3 US military strikes that killed dozens, while special operations teams kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady and Deputy Cilia Flores.

In the weeks since, the Venezuelan government has emphasized its commitment to reestablish ties with the Trump administration, with Rodríguez pledging that she is not afraid to address “differences” with Washington through diplomatic channels.

For his part, US President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he maintains positive relationships with Venezuelan leaders, including the acting president.

Since the January 3 strikes, the White House has claimed control over Venezuelan crude sales, with proceeds reportedly deposited in US-administered accounts in Qatar before a portion is returned to the South American nation. Last week, the Venezuelan National Assembly approved an oil reform granting expanded benefits for private corporations that drew praise from US officials.

Caracas severed diplomatic ties with Washington in 2019 after the Trump administration recognized the self-proclaimed “interim government” headed by Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate authority.

A formal reestablishment of diplomatic relations hinges on the White House formally recognizing the Venezuelan acting government, a move that is also a necessary step before any process of debt renegotiation.

Rodríguez announces Amnesty Law, Helicoide closure

Venezuelan acting authorities have combined the restoration of ties with Washington with a fast-moving domestic legislative agenda.

On Friday, during the Supreme Court’s 2026 opening ceremony, Acting President Rodríguez announced a new “General Amnesty Law,” intended to cover acts of political violence that have occurred in Venezuela from 1999 to the present.

In her speech, Rodríguez explained that the law aims to “heal the wounds” resulting from political confrontation.

“I request the full cooperation of the Venezuelan parliament so that this law may contribute to healing the wounds left by confrontation, violence, and extremism,” she told attendees. “May it serve to redirect justice in our country and restore coexistence among Venezuelans.”

The legislative proposal will reportedly exclude those who have been convicted or are facing charges of homicide, drug trafficking, corruption, and serious human rights violations.

Alongside the new law proposal, Rodríguez announced the closure of the Helicoide detention center in Caracas, with plans to turn it into a recreational center. The facility, run by the SEBIN intelligence agency, has held multiple high-profile opposition figures accused of crimes including treason and terrorism.

Human rights organizations over the years have denounced grave human rights violations against Helicoide prisoners. Dozens of prisoners have been gradually released in recent days. 

Javier Tarazona, director of the NGO Fundaredes, was among those released during the weekend. He had been detained since 2021 on terrorism and treason charges. Luis Istúriz, a leader from the far-right Vente Venezuela party, also exited the Helicoide on Sunday following 18 months behind bars. He had begun a 30-year sentence on charges of terrorism and conspiracy.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello affirmed in a Monday press conference that the amnesty law is about promoting “coexistence and peace” and will see authorities review the cases of people who have “undoubtedly committed crimes.”

“Those who benefit from the amnesty will be given an opportunity to return to politics,” he said, adding that the amnesty project was a government initiative that had no influence from “NGOs and foreign governments.”

Edited and with additional reporting by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

Right-wing candidate from the governing PPSO leads presidential race with 53.01 percent of the vote, early results show.

The right-wing law-and-order candidate, Laura Fernandez, has taken a commanding lead in Costa Rica’s presidential election, according to early results.

With ballots from 31 percent of polling stations counted late on Sunday, Fernandez, of the governing Sovereign People Party (PPSO), had 53.01 percent of the vote, the results showed.

Alvaro Ramos of the centre-left National Liberation Party ‍was in second place ⁠with 30.05 percent, while former First Lady Claudia Dobles was in third place with 3.9 percent.

Fernandez ‌needs at ‌least 40 percent to win the election outright and avoid ‌a run-off on April 5.

The 39-year-old politician is the handpicked successor of incumbent President Rodrigo Chaves, and campaigned on continuing his tough security policies.

The historically peaceful Central American nation’s crime surge in recent years could be a deciding factor for many voters. Some fault Chaves’s presidency for failing to bring the rates down, but many see his confrontational style as the best chance for Costa Rica to tame the violence.

Fernandez was previously Chaves’s minister of national planning and economic policy and, more recently, his minister of the presidency.

Costa Ricans also voted for the 57-seat National Assembly. Chaves’s party is expected to make gains, but perhaps not achieve the supermajority he and Fernandez have called for, which would allow their party to choose Supreme Court magistrates, for example.

Twenty contenders were seeking the presidency, but no candidate other than Fernandez and Ramos reached 5 percent in the preliminary and partial results.

Whoever is nominated from the two Kurdish parties still needs the approval from the Shia and Sunni blocs in the parliament.

Iraq’s parliament has postponed the election for the country’s next president to allow for more consultations between the two Kurdish parties to agree on a candidate.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) said the parliamentary vote scheduled for Tuesday was delayed at the request of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Iraq follows a sectarian quota system, according to which the post of the prime minister goes to a Shia, the parliament’s speaker is a Sunni, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd.

Usually, in an agreement between the two main Kurdish parties, a PUK member holds the presidency. In contrast, the president and regional leader of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region are selected from the KDP.

However, in this instance, the KDP announced its own candidate, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, for the election.

Reporting from the capital, Baghdad, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said whoever is nominated from the two Kurdish parties still needs the approval from the Shia and Sunni blocs in the parliament.

After the election, the new president will have 15 days to appoint a prime minister, who is widely expected to be the former leader, Nouri al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki, 75, has already served as Iraq’s prime minister for two terms from 2006 to 2014 before he quit under pressure from the United States. He is seen as being close to Iran.

On Saturday, the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Shia parties which holds a parliamentary majority, endorsed Maliki. The next day, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned against a pro-Iranian government in Iraq.

An Iraqi source close to the Coordination Framework told the AFP news agency that Washington had conveyed to it that it “holds a negative view of previous governments led by former Prime Minister Maliki”.

In a letter, US representatives said that while the selection of the prime minister is an Iraqi decision, “the United States will make its own sovereign decisions regarding the next government in line with American interests”.

Another Iraqi source confirmed the letter, adding that the Shia alliance had still moved forward with its choice, confident that Maliki could allay Washington’s concerns.

Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between the US and Iran, with successive governments negotiating a delicate balance between the two foes.