Rodríguez

Twenty-one years into its run, “Dancing With the Stars” is one of the hottest and buzziest shows on TV right now.

ABC’s competition series kicked off its 35th season in September, scoring its biggest premiere ratings since 2020. Fueling a lot of that viewership power are Gen Z and millennial viewers, attracted by a cast loaded with social media influencers, reality TV stars and nostalgic favorites. And a certain 55-year-old late-night sidekick has emerged as a social media hit with his lovable underdog journey: Guillermo Rodriguez.

Best known as the former parking lot security guard-turned-sidekick on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” who was discovered after he was caught sleeping in the car of the show’s announcer, Rodriguez regularly steals the spotlight on the late-night talk show with his humorous, humble interactions in comedy bits and as a red-carpet correspondent. Now, he’s expanding his profile as a celebrity contestant on “Dancing With the Stars,” paired with dance pro Witney Carson.

Rodriguez says he’s been asked to join the show before, but he passed because of a busy schedule and his insecurity as a dancer — “I’m not a dancer,” he tells me. “I dance when we have Thanksgiving, Christmas, but it’s for two seconds, four seconds. Not a minute and a half!”

He praises Carson, who is competing while pregnant, for her patience and encouragement in his journey.

“Oh, my God, Witney is a great partner,” he says. “She’s telling me, ‘Listen, just follow me. Follow the steps. Remember, do not look at the floor; look up. And just be yourself. If I want to ask you to be a diva, you be a diva. I don’t want you to laugh.’ She’s been fantastic. She’s helping me a lot. She tells me, ‘The audience know that you’re not a professional dancer, and that you’re trying hard and everything. Just enjoy because this only happens once in a lifetime.’” Read more from my conversation with Rodriguez in Guest Spot.

Also in this week’s Screen Gab, our writers recommend a miniseries about a mysterious sea creature terrorizing a small coastal town and a pair of psychological horror dramas exploring female rage. And just a quick PSA — not funded by taxpayers, I promise — before I wrap up: “Felicity” is now streaming on Netflix. If you want to get (re)acquainted with collegiate angst, the art of making “hey” pack the same power as a Keats poem or experience Keri Russell’s controversial haircut moment, give it a whirl. As a superfan who returned to it often when it was on Hulu, it’s my duty to warn you to proceed with caution when it comes to Season 4. — Yvonne Villarreal.

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Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times

Josh Hartnett as Calvin and Mackenzie Davis as Fonda in Netflix’s “Below.”

(Netflix)

“Below” (Netflix)

A first-rate sea monster miniseries, set in a small fishing village in Newfoundland, where the natives add an “s” to some verbs (“anyway you slices it,” “I gets it”), making them sound a little like Popeye. Creator Jesse McKeown drops enough “Jaws” references to let you know he’s aware of the similarities, but “Below,” which goes some crazy places in its latter half, is very much its own aquatic whirligig. Josh Hartnett plays fisherman Calvin Penney, attempting to harvest blue ice for vodka in the face of declining stocks, but finding his haul smelling strangely of ammonia. Mackenzie Davis is marine researcher Fonda Howander (year’s best name), who has an idea about that. (Global warming, your real-world villain.) The series, in which I detect a quality of Canadian naturalism, uses its special effects budget sparingly, and I would say, wisely; when something extraordinary happens, it doubly registers. But the series’ strength is in its evocative background and nicely drawn characters, going about their messy human business, as the town debates whether to let the government transplant them to somewhere less remote while Calvin tries to get his adult kids on his page. — Robert Lloyd

Summer H. Howell as the titular teenager in Prime Video’s “Carrie.”

(Robert Falconer / Prime Video)

“Carrie” (Prime Video) and “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” (Netflix)

Killer women usher in the Halloween season with these two new horror series. The TV adaptation of Stephen King’s novel loosely follows the 1976 big-screen classic starring Sissy Spacek, but reimagines the bloody prom queen Carrie (Summer H. Howell) in today’s world, replete with cyberbullies and smartphones. The limited series from horror master Mike Flanagan (“The House on Haunted Hill,” “Midnight Mass”) pits the terror of the modern world — school shootings, conspiracy-theory fanaticism — against a naive girl’s deadly telekinetic powers for a smart and powerful reimagining of the chilling classic. “The Lizzie Borden Story” is the fourth season of the “Monster” anthology series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, and it stars Ella Beatty as the titular character. With the help of an enviable cast (Sarah Paulson, Vicky Krieps), it dramatizes the events before, during and after the 1892 ax murders of Borden’s father and stepmother, and jumps timelines to connect Borden’s story with that of another violent female killer who shocked the country a century later. Does it take historical liberties? Absolutely, and it makes for a thrilling new take on a notorious chapter in American crime. — Lorraine Ali

Guest spot

A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching

Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez perform during Mariah Carey night on “Dancing With the Stars.”

(Eric McCandless / Disney)

When Guillermo Rodriguez signed up to compete on “Dancing With the Stars,” he came in with no dance background and the least nimble body, but he had experience in how to win over fans as the scene-stealing sidekick on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Now, Rodriguez has danced the cha-cha, paso doble, foxtrot and samba before millions of people — captivating audiences with assisted knee walks, floor drops and a bare-chested message for the world. He may be the lowest-scoring star on the leaderboard each week, but the 55-year-old knows how to hold an audience and, with professional partner Witney Carson, has managed to stay alive in the competition. After channeling his inner diva for Mariah Carey night on the show (cheekily performing to “Obsessed”) and making it past this week’s elimination round, Rodriguez spoke to us about how he’s feeling at this stage in the competition. — Y.V.

How is the diva life treating you?

Oh, my God, Yvonne, it’s hard work. Being a diva is not easy.

What body part is hurting you today?

You know what — my legs. My legs and my back hurt bad. If you’re in the 20s and 30s, it’s OK, but when you’re like in the 50s, it’s hard. In the 20s and 30s, you have all the energy and also your body is young.

When you get home from rehearsals or after performance night, what’s your routine? Are you doing a bath soak? Are you elevating your feet?

I actually I get in the pool, I get in the hot tub. But someone was telling me I gotta get a massage and I gotta get a cold plunge because that’s gonna help the body. Also, you know what is helping me. I haven’t [had a] drink in two months, and I feel good. I have a shot, I have a drink, so it can relax me and everything. But with “Dancing,” I cannot have a drink because I don’t wanna forget the steps.

You’ve said that you’re doing the show because you want to dance with your wife. How’s that going? Have you been showing her any moves at home?

I have a little bit. And she said, “Well, wait, this is it?” I go, “No, this is only the beginning [steps]. I still got to show [you] more. She goes, “Oh, now I understand why you’re so tired.” And I go, “Yeah, we have to rehearse and everything, and you gotta smile at the camera, you gotta watch your steps, you gotta move your hips and everything.” And I tell her, “When I move to the left, I hear a noise like [mimics creaking noises], ‘Oh, oh, my body is clicking!’ I move left to the left — my knee is making noise!’” But I’m having a lot of fun. It’s great.

How has this experienced changed you so far? How do you feel when you’re out there performing?

It changed me in that I get nervous and it’s hard, but when I go over there [onstage], I like it. I enjoy. You get like a minute and 12 or 40 [seconds], depending on the music. But I’m happy. I get to push myself.

I get out there and [I think], I gotta give my best. And I feel so good because a lot of the audience, they like it a lot. They go crazy and everything, and that makes me feel so good. You know what — I might not be the best dancer, but I’m trying my best, and the people see it. But who knows what’s gonna happen. I might go home next week.

Witney Carson and Guillermo Rodriguez perform the paso doble on “Dancing With the Stars.”

(Christopher Willard / Disney)

We’ve seen you in the bottom a few times. This week, you were there again. What was going through your head this week as you waited for the names to be called?

I feel very nervous. I said, “Oh, my God, this is it. We going home.” I told Witney [before the show], “Witney, I think this is it. I think we’re going home.” She said, “Well, listen, if we’re going home, we did a good job. You told me that you wanna pass the first week, and you already passed the first week, so you don’t have nothing else to lose.” But I feel very nervous. And then when they say, “The couple going home is Ciara [Miller] and Brandon [Armstrong],” I was like, “Oh, my God.” It was hard. And the dance was hard too. Samba is a fast dance. We didn’t have too much time to rehearse because we were going to New York back and forth.

The fandom for “Dancing With the Stars” goes hard. What has surprised you about the fan response?

A lot of the fans are voting for us. I want to say thank you to all the fans. They‘re keeping us alive. They’re voting a lot. They’re making it happen and everything. I was so surprised. [This week,] Carrie Ann [Inaba] give us bad comments, and the audience started booing. I was like, “Wow, this is so amazing! The audience is on our side.” They want us to keep going. And I told Witney, “Witney, we gotta keep going.” We dance for the people. If we make it past next week, it will be great. If we go home, we did it and that’s it.

On the other side of that, there can be some negative talk too, some frustrated fans who think other contestants should still be there. How do you deal with that? Or when the beefs get stirred up on social media? Are you paying attention to that?

I don’t know. The first week I was listening to the comments and everything, but now I don’t listen. I just go have fun. Everybody has different opinions. You cannot please everybody. So I just go have fun, enjoy, and that’s it. If they like it, [or] they don’t like it. Some people say, “Oh, he’s too old. He’s out of shape.” I say, “You know what? Come and dance yourself. It’s not easy.” Every week I try to do better and better.

How do you think Jimmy Kimmel would do in the competition?

Oh — you want me to be honest? He doesn’t dance. And he told me that. He told me, “You know me, that I’m not good.” And I go, “Yeah, I know you’re not good. You’re like a rock.” I told him, “Jimmy. I think when it’s time and they say, ‘Dancing the cha-cha-cha, here’s Jimmy Kimmel,’” I said, “I’m gonna come right away before you start and I’m gonna spray WD-40 so you can move good.”

Is there a song you really want to dance to if you had the opportunity to pick it?

Oh, I would like to dance to one that goes [begins singing “You’re the Best” by Joe “Bean” Esposito, which is featured in the “Karate Kid” soundtrack]: “You’re the best. You’re the best around. No one’s ever gonna keep you down. You’re the best.” I’m like, oh, my God, I would love to dance that one.

I know you’re super busy with all the rehearsals, but is there a show that you are enjoying right now, one that helps you unwind?

Oh yeah, there’s a show that I’m watching right now. It’s called “The Studio” with Seth Rogen. I cannot wait for the new season. I love the show. Seth Rogen is doing a great job. Bryan Cranston too, and Ike Barinholtz. Oh, my God, everyone in the cast is so funny.

We have to get you on that show, Guillermo. You can play yourself.

Yeah, I want to. I want to be in that show. Hopefully, it happens soon.

ICYMI

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MIAMI — A former Miami congressman and longtime friend of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison in connection with a secret $50 million lobbying campaign on Venezuela’s behalf during the first Trump administration.

Republican David Rivera has been jailed since jurors found him guilty in May on all counts, including failing to register as a foreign agent and conspiracy to commit money laundering as part of his work for former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro ’s government.

Rivera, 61, appeared stone-faced as Judge Melissa Damian denounced him for betraying his life’s mission, saying he would surely have been judged harshly his many friends had the millions of dollars come from the Cuban regime instead of its allies in Caracas.

“Nobody would accept that’s ok and I don’t think this is different,” the judge said. “There’s no dispute this money came from the Maduro regime.”

The seven-week trial offered a rare glimpse into Miami’s role as a crossroads for foreign influence campaigns aimed at shaping U.S. policy toward Latin America, highlighting the city’s reputation as a magnet for both anti-communist crusaders and corruption among its sizable exile population.

It included testimony from President Trump’s secretary of state, Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas and a top Washington lobbyist — all of whom testified they felt betrayed when learning of Rivera’s mammoth consulting contract with a U.S.-based affiliate of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA.

Attorneys for Rivera plan to appeal and in June applied for a presidential pardon. Rivera faces additional federal charges in Washington, D.C., in a related foreign lobbying case.

Prosecutors said betrayal featured coded figures — ‘Sombrero’ and ‘Miss Clairol’

In an indictment unsealed in 2022, prosecutors alleged that Rivera was tapped by then Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — to work Republican connections to get the first Trump administration to abandon its hard line and crippling sanctions on Venezuela.

As part of the charm offensive, Rivera and a co-defendant, political consultant Esther Nuhfer, sought to manipulate influential friends, including Rubio and Sessions. Their goal was to normalize relations with the new Trump administration even as the Maduro government faced sanctions over serious accusations of human rights violations.

But Rivera and Nuhfer didn’t disclose their lobbying work as required, for fear it would have ended Rivera’s political career as an anti-communist stalwart, prosecutors argued at trial.

“The United States and the public were the true victims of this fraud,” Assistant U.S. Atty. Roger Cruz said in urging a stiff sentence. “He used his position of trust — and betrayed it consistently and repeatedly.”

To hide his work, prosecutors allege, Rivera also set up an encrypted chat group called MIA — for Miami — with his main conduit to the Maduro government: Venezuelan media tycoon Raúl Gorrín, who was subsequently charged in the U.S. with bribing top Venezuelan officials.

Members of the group used playful code words to discuss their activities: Maduro was the “bus driver,” Sessions “Sombrero,” Rodríguez “The Lady in Red,” and their windfall payments “La Luz,” Spanish for “The Light,” according to copies of text messages presented to the jury. Rubio was known as “Miss Clairol,” because rubio means blond in Spanish.

Defense said only missing paperwork made the $50 million contract illegal

At Friday’s sentencing, attorneys for Rivera repeated their trial argument that the former congressman believed he was under no requirement to disclose the work. The three-month, $50 million contract with Rivera’s one-man consulting firm, they said, was focused on luring oil giant ExxonMobil back to Venezuela — commercial work that is generally exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

“David Rivera does not deserve to die in prison because he failed to file a FARA registration,” defense attorney Ed Shohat said at Friday’s hearing. “If he had filed that paper, that form, everything he did, including the $50 million contract, which totally distorted this case, is perfectly legal.”

Wholly distinct from that consulting work, they say, were Rivera’s meetings with Rubio and Sessions, which were focused on ushering in leadership in Venezuela that would be less hostile to the U.S. – not supporting Maduro in normalizing relations with the U.S.

“There’s not one word in any chat, not one document, not one thing he did to help Nicolás Maduro,” said Shohat.

Prosecutors said Rivera used the contract with the affiliate, New York-based PDV USA, as cover for illegal lobbying.

“This is a classic money laundering case,” the judge said Friday in rejecting Rivera’s motion to lower the federal guidelines range.

Where did the money go? A luxury yacht, among other things

The partners tried to hide the work — backdating documents and coming up with sham agreements, like one to justify a wire transfer of $3.75 million to a South Florida company that maintained Gorrín’s luxury yacht, prosecutors said.

The political activity included setting up meetings for Rodríguez in New York, Caracas, Washington and Dallas. As part of the effort, Rivera roped in Sessions, who later tried to broker a meeting for Rodríguez with the ExxonMobil executive who took over as CEO when Rex Tillerson became Trump’s first-term secretary of state. After a secret meeting in Caracas with Maduro, Sessions also agreed to deliver a letter from the Venezuelan president to Trump.

The outreach quickly unraveled, however. Within six months of taking office, Trump sanctioned Maduro and labeled him a “dictator,” launching a “maximum pressure” campaign to unseat the president.

And now, nearly a decade later, Rodríguez has emerged as the second Trump administration’s trusted partner after the U.S. military’s ousting of Maduro.

Rubio’s former housemate faced scandal before, but Cuban Americans support him

Before being elected to Congress in 2010, Rivera was a high-ranking Florida legislator and shared a Tallahassee home with Rubio, who eventually became the Florida House speaker.

Rivera faced earlier controversy, including allegations that he secretly funded a Democratic spoiler candidate in a 2012 congressional race. Last year, federal prosecutors dropped that case after an appeals court threw out a sizable fine imposed by a lower court. Rivera was also investigated — but never charged — for alleged campaign finance violations and a $1 million contract with a gambling company while serving in the Florida Legislature.

Despite all that, Rivera remains popular among Miami’s Cuban American establishment.

Friends of the former congressman, including the former president of Florida International University and Miami-Dade County’s supervisor of elections, packed the courtroom to show their support.

Sessions, in a letter seeking leniency that was read into the record by his chief of staff, said his former congressional colleague devoted decades to public service, much of it focused on defending liberty and democracy.

“I don’t think it’s productive for society by sending David away for a long, long time,” testified Liliana Ros, a longtime Miami GOP committee member.

Goodman writes for the Associated Press.

Caracas, September 25, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) –  Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez outlined a foreign policy built on “peace” and “dialogue” in her address at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

Speaking before world leaders, Rodríguez insisted on peace over conflict, thanked the Trump administration for diplomatic backing, and committed to international cooperation on environmental, energy, and AI regulation. She went on to urge young Venezuelan migrants to return home and laid out a proposal for structural “democratic transformation” of the Caribbean nation. 

Opening her address, Rodríguez underscored Caracas’ rejection of warfare, linking global stability to diplomatic resolution. 

“Venezuela, which today knows what it is to lift its children out from under the rubble, extends its deepest solidarity to all peoples who suffer from war, and reaffirms that peace […] is not a naive aspiration, but the only truly human path,” she declared.

Rodríguez explicitly addressed the diplomatic rapprochement with Washington after the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. She expressed thanked Trump for aiding Venezuela’s reintegration into international forums following years of heavy economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.

“I want to thank President Donald Trump and his government for their willingness to resume the path of diplomatic and cooperative relations with Venezuela,” Rodríguez stated, referencing the recent oil deal as “one of the largest ever signed” and pledging that it will contribute to regional energy stability.

Rodríguez refrained from condemning the US attack, calling it a “difficult moment” that resulted from the “exhaustion of domestic policies and heightened confrontation with the US.” She likewise made no mention of Maduro and Flores, presently detained 10-15 miles away from the UN headquarters and facing trial for charges including drug trafficking conspiracy.

The Venezuelan acting president had conveyed similar gratitude in a face-to-face meeting with Trump on Tuesday that she labeled as “historic.”

Turning to domestic affairs in her UN address, Rodríguez spoke of the severe wave of migration triggered by past political and economic crises, and vowed to the Venezuelan youth residing abroad that there will be improved conditions for their return.

“To the young people, who have grown up seeing a fractured country and who often decided to leave seeking what they could not find here: I tell you that it is worth believing again,” the acting leader affirmed. “This is the moment to build the country that many want to return to, and not just the one that many wanted to flee.”

This message was framed as part of what Rodríguez termed a “democratic transformation for a rebirth,” which she described as an institutional, orderly, and verifiable process.

“In Venezuela, there will be elections. We have already initiated a political dialogue with sectors of the opposition that leads to a process on equal terms for all,” she noted.

Though Rodríguez did not explicitly name unilateral sanctions from Washington and its allies, she stated that the country needs to be “free from economic restrictions” and pledged to “guide Venezuela toward an era of full democracy, recognized by its people and the world.”

The acting president’s UN speech came amid a flurry of diplomatic activity in New York, including meetings with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank President Ajay Banga, and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn.

On the sidelines of the UN assembly, Rodríguez also held bilateral meetings with Chilean far-right president José Antonio Kast to discuss regional trade and stability, as well as with a delegation from Trinidad and Tobago, led by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, initiating a “new stage in bilateral relations” centered on joint offshore natural gas exploration and maritime security.

Venezuela had suspended cooperation with neighboring Port of Spain after Persad-Bissessar backed the US’ military build-up on the country’s shores in late 2025.

Rodríguez’s New York trip coincided with a second round of US-backed talks between government negotiators led by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and a sector of the opposition led by former deputy Dinorah Figuera.

The latest negotiations reportedly focused on electoral guarantees, freedom of expression, institutional reform, including renewing the Supreme Court, and efforts to secure the unfreezing of Venezuelan assets abroad, including gold reserves worth approximately US $4 billion. The gold held by the Bank of England is set to be transferred to the US, to be released for post-earthquake recovery efforts under White House oversight.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Caracas, September 22, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and US President Donald Trump held a first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday night in New York amid the rapid rapprochement between Washington and Caracas.

The closed-door gathering took place at the Lotte New York Palace hotel during a reception for world leaders participating in the ongoing 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Trump was flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and other White House officials, while Rodríguez was joined by Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia.

The Venezuelan government published photos of the meeting, with the two leaders smiling for the cameras in front of the countries’ flags.

On her social media channels, Rodríguez praised the “historic” sit-down with Trump and reported that the discussions focused on strengthening “cooperation in strategic areas such as energy and mining.”

“We thanked President Trump and his government […] for its support for Venezuela’s reinsertion into multilateral spaces,” she stated. “Venezuela and the United States share a historic relation that, in this new era, we must drive forward through dialogue.”

Tuesday’s summit was the first between US and Venezuelan leaders since a brief encounter between Barack Obama and Nicolás Maduro during the 2015 Summit of the Americas in Panama.

Rodríguez is also set to be the first Venezuelan head of state to participate in the UN General Assembly since Maduro in 2018, during Trump’s first term. In 2019, then as vice president, Rodríguez addressed the UN General Assembly, denouncing US sanctions as a form of “state terrorism” and accusing Trump of “sticking his imperial claws” against Venezuela and Cuba

The high-level meeting follows a rapid diplomatic rapprochement between Caracas and Washington following the January 3 US bombings and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores. In the months since, the acting Rodríguez administration has fast-tracked energy and mining reforms tailored to US and Western corporate interests while also realigning the country’s foreign policy.

The Venezuelan acting president and her diplomatic team have yet to mention Maduro in their New York trip. Maduro and Flores are presently detained in Brooklyn, some 10 miles from the UN headquarters, and facing drug trafficking conspiracy charges. Both pleaded not guilty.

At the time of writing, the White House has offered no details on Tuesday’s summit with Rodríguez.

However, in his UN speech earlier in the day, Trump hailed the US’ military operation to kidnap “outlaw dictator” Maduro.

“Our actions in Venezuela are proof that the United States will no longer permit threats to America to gain a foothold anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. And if necessary, we will use our unmatched military might to secure the vital national interests of the United States,” he said.

Trump went on to boast about US corporations entering the Venezuelan energy sector and praised a recent deal giving privileged access to more than 20 percent of the Caribbean nation’s reserves to a Pentagon-controlled firm as “perhaps the biggest deal ever made.”

“To the victor belong the spoils,” he added. Rodríguez and the Venezuelan delegation were shown listening to Trump’s speech in the UN live broadcast.

Prior to the high-profile Trump sit-down, Venezuela’s acting president held meetings with Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and World Bank President Ajay Banga to discuss Venezuela’s reintegration into international financing and cooperation mechanisms.

“We are promoting new stages of engagement with the international financial system and working to ensure joint efforts for the benefit of the Venezuelan people. Venezuela’s future is built through partnerships, hard work, and the firm determination to keep moving forward and creating opportunities for our nation,” Rodríguez said. 

She also met with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, with whom she reportedly discussed Venezuela’s political and economic situation, cooperation with the UN, human rights, and dialogue.

The Venezuelan leader likewise held a brief conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Caracas, September 21, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) –  Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez hosted Paraguayan counterpart Santiago Peña at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on Saturday as the two South American nations relaunch bilateral diplomatic and consular relations.

The high-level working meeting reportedly focused on establishing a shared agenda centered on trade expansion, energy cooperation, consular assistance, and joint efforts to combat transnational organized crime.

The summit concluded with a joint statement announcing the renewed bilateral relations, signed by foreign ministers Félix Plasencia and Rubén Ramírez Lezcano for Venezuela and Paraguay, respectively.

Following the signing ceremony, Rodríguez and Peña expressed optimism regarding the reestablished cooperation.

“We are working together for a more integrated Paraguay,” Peña declared in a press conference, emphasizing that the dialogue was focused on “the well-being of citizens” from both countries.

For her part, Rodríguez claimed the accord did justice to principles of sovereignty, dialogue, and South American integration in Venezuela’s foreign policy.

“Venezuela continues to advance a sovereign diplomacy of peace, rooted in mutual respect, self-determination, and constructive dialogue among our nations,” she stated. “This meeting opens a new stage of cooperation aimed at addressing shared challenges and serving the concrete interests of both our peoples.”

The Caracas meeting reversed years of political friction and diplomatic tensions between the two nations. Bilateral ties were initially severed in January 2019 under former Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez, who aligned Asunción with Washington’s regime-change strategy by recognizing opposition figure Juan Guaidó’s self-proclaimed “interim government.”

Relations experienced a brief thaw in late 2023 under Peña’s incoming administration before breaking down again in January 2025. The Venezuelan government formally severed diplomatic channels after Peña supported far-right opposition candidate Edmundo González’s victory claim in the July 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections. The Paraguayan president further backed Venezuelan anti-government forces by attending María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December 2025.

A central point on the reopened diplomatic agenda was the resolution of a long-standing debt owed by Paraguayan state oil company Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) to Venezuela’s state energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

The financial dispute stems from fuel shipments received by Petropar under the 2004 Caracas Energy Accord, an energy integration initiative launched under President Hugo Chávez to provide favorable financing conditions for oil imports across Latin America and the Caribbean. Paraguay currently maintains an outstanding principal debt estimated at approximately US $300 million.

Addressing the issue ahead of the summit, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano acknowledged the core obligation but highlighted technical disagreements regarding accumulated interest calculations.

“The differential of that debt is linked to interest that applies outside the commercial agreement that exists with that country,” Ramírez explained during a press conference last week, noting that the specific arbitration over interest rates remains before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.

The resolution of the debt has been paralyzed for years primarily due to the severing of diplomatic ties, compounded by unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against PDVSA.

With diplomatic channels now reopened, both governments signaled their intention to structure a viable settlement mechanism outside of imperial financial restrictions.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the acting Rodríguez government has aligned its foreign policy with Washington, mending or expanding ties with US partners in Latin America and beyond while scaling back support for long-term allies such as Cuba and Iran.

Following Saturday’s summit in Caracas, Acting President Rodríguez departed Venezuela for New York City, where she will attend the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week.

According to Reuters, Rodríguez is slated to hold discussions on energy and mining agreements, as well as Venezuela’s ongoing debt restructuring process. 

On Monday, the Venezuelan acting president met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, though no details of the talks were disclosed. Caracas has sought to unblock around $4.5 billion in IMF-issued Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for recovery efforts following the June 24 double earthquake.

Likewise on Monday, Rodríguez held talks with World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Lisbon, Portugal.