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Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez’s recent remarks that he and his government have enjoyed “a very good understanding and relationship” with the United States over the last 36 days should be treated as a strategic opening, not a friendly truce. If Newsmax’s coverage is accurate, Washington now has leverage on everything from energy to narcotics interdiction and the fate of political prisoners — leverage that must be used to benefit Americans and freedom-loving Venezuelans alike.
Conservatives should welcome any chance to pry Venezuela away from the orbit of China, Russia, and Iran, but we must demand concrete, verifiable concessions in return. Rodríguez himself signaled gestures toward reconciliation by announcing the release of prisoners, a move that must be tested against independent verification and conditioned on real political reform and monitored amnesty terms.
This isn’t the time for naïve diplomacy or soft-handed engagement that forgets accountability; it’s an opportunity to insist on full cooperation in counter-narcotics operations and transparency around oil revenues. Caracas must be held to account for trafficking networks and the abuses that drove millions to flee Venezuela — terms of any détente should include clear mechanisms for cooperation on drug interdiction and recovery of stolen assets.
Americans who cherish liberty should also be wary: Jorge Rodríguez is a well-known Chavista operative and the brother of a sitting interim president, and Maduro’s circle has repeatedly shown it will use concessions to consolidate power rather than to democratize. The internal fractures in Chavismo and the National Assembly’s maneuvers show this regime plays for time and advantage; we must make sure Washington’s diplomacy extracts lasting institutional change, not propaganda wins for a corrupt junta.
Practical conservative policy right now is simple and bold: condition any sanctions relief or recognition on verifiable steps — team inspections, free media access, independent judicial reviews, and the return of U.S.-held assets only when revenue flows are transparent and reserved for humanitarian needs. Congress must act fast to oversee any agreement, protect American energy security, and prioritize the safety of Venezuelan dissidents and U.S. interests in the hemisphere.
I searched Newsmax and broader reporting to verify the specifics of the YouTube clip and the “36 days” line, and while Newsmax and AP-style coverage clearly report Jorge Rodríguez’s outreach and gestures toward cooperation, independent confirmation of the exact quoted timeframe and its full context was limited in open sources. Readers should therefore treat the Newsmax report as a signal of warming communications but demand clear, documented commitments from Caracas before celebrating any diplomatic thaw.
