Trump’s Envoy Grenell in Venezuela to Discuss US Prisoners, Gang Members

image is BloomburgMedia_SQYI42T1UM0X00_31-01-2025_19-00-10_638738784000000000.jpg

Richard Grenell

An adviser for President Donald Trump will meet with officials from the government of Venezuela as Nicolas Maduro seeks to restart talks with the US, the highest level encounter in years between the two ideological opponents.

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, part of an early effort at engaging with the sanctioned leader of the oil-rich nation.

Maduro wants to use his encounter with Grenell on Friday to restart talks with the US “from zero,” according to a senior Venezuelan government official. The most recent attempt to reach a compromise between the US and Venezuela failed after the Biden administration refused to lift all sanctions as agreed, Maduro has said. Biden officials have said Maduro stole the nation’s most recent election.

Nicolas MaduroPhotographer: Bloomberg

Venezuelan bonds jumped across the curve, with sovereign notes gaining more than half a cent on Friday. Notes maturing in 2027 advanced 0.8 cents to trade above 19 cents on the dollar, the highest levels since late July, according to indicative pricing data compiled by Bloomberg.

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. 

A possible incentive Grenell has to offer Maduro to accept deportees is the extension of a US license allowing Chevron Corp. to operate, the only US oil producer left in Venezuela, a person with knowledge of the meeting said.

As Maduro begins his third term, the oil industry is the main driver keeping Venezuela’s economy afloat. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US should reconsider Chevron’s sanctions waiver, saying it provides “billions of dollars of money into the regime’s coffers.”

Claver-Carone said that Grenell’s visit is “not a quid pro quo, it’s not a negotiation in exchange for anything,” and that Trump has said the US doesn’t need to buy Venezuela’s oil.

“The meeting represents a victory for Maduro and slight to Venezuelan opposition leaders, who have urged the US to avoid any moves that would legitimize Maduro,” Eurasia Group analyst Risa Grais-Targow wrote in a note. However, “there are clear divisions within the Trump administration when it comes to Venezuela, with Grenell and oil-specific interests keener for engagement.”

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.

The last US delegation visit to Caracas took place in 2023, led by then President Joe Biden’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Roger Carstens, who secured a prisoner swap in which Venezuela freed 10 Americans and handed over a defense contractor, while the US released a Maduro ally.

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. 

(Updates starting in the first paragraph, including details on talks in the 4th paragraph.)

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

By Bloomberg News

KEEPING THE ENERGY INDUSTRY CONNECTED

Subscribe to our newsletter and get the best of Energy Connects directly to your inbox each week.

By subscribing, you agree to the processing of your personal data by dmg events as described in the Privacy Policy.

Back To Top