In the room where yesterday the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly was held in New York, the delegations of Spain and Venezuela were located in the same row, the seventh, but separated by seven other countries - including the USA - spread across four columns of seats, about 23 meters in a straight line. The layout of the room required crossing practically the entire plenary to go from one delegation to the other. However, this did not deter Delcy Rodríguez from her goal: to converse with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
Early in the New York morning, the Venezuelan president got up from her seat and, in 45 seconds, reached the table where Sánchez and the ministers Sara Aagesen and José Manuel Albares were. She deliberately crossed the entire room and approached to greet the president, taking the opportunity to ask him to "continue talking about the situation in Venezuela," as reported by the Spanish delegation.
To convey that message to Sánchez, Rodríguez took about 75 steps and covered approximately 50 meters. Her greeting to the Spanish president was completely calculated and sought. She arrived with a movement in full view of all attendees, as the Venezuelan leader passed in front of the tables of 31 countries: Argentina, Belgium, Egypt, Germany, France, Finland, North Korea... If six people sit in each delegation, 186 leaders were direct witnesses of the journey. All the guests were seated, she was standing and walking. It was impossible not to be noticed or to seek discretion.
Sánchez was on the phone. Upon noticing Rodríguez's presence, he said goodbye to his interlocutor and stood up to greet her, but then remained seated in his seat. Just 33 seconds of conversation. Government sources have a "positive" assessment of this brief encounter, which, they explain, was the result of Rodríguez "showing up unannounced."
Although there is no scheduled bilateral meeting in these days, Sánchez, as explained by his team, showed willingness to have that conversation about Venezuela because "Spain is committed to the future of the region."
This is the first encounter, albeit brief, between the two leaders. Until now, they had had two phone conversations on January 9 and June 25, related to the US military operation that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and Rodríguez's rise to power, with the approval of Donald Trump; and the earthquakes that devastated the Latin American country in June.
Initially, after Maduro's fall, Sánchez referred to the leader as a "temporary president." A term that has now disappeared. The Government has extended an invitation for her to attend the Ibero-American Summit to be held in Madrid in early November and hopes she can do so. Rodríguez faces sanctions that prevent her from setting foot on European soil, so a special permit is required.
Rodríguez already caused controversy with a visit to Spain on the night of January 20, 2020. She landed in a private flight at the executive terminal of Barajas. She was accompanied by five members of the Venezuelan regime. The then Minister of Transport and right-hand man of Sánchez, José Luis Ábalos, went to the airport to handle the situation, as the Venezuelan leader was prohibited from setting foot on Spanish soil.
As reported by this newspaper, Ábalos sent a message to Sánchez announcing her arrival in Spain. Delcy "is coming privately and wants to see me discreetly as a follow-up to the meeting I had with the Minister of Communication (who is her brother). The arrangement we agreed upon in favor of Spanish companies has allowed Duro Felguera to collect a significant debt." The Prime Minister responded to his then right-hand man (now in prison for belonging to a criminal organization) with a straightforward "good."
In October 2024, Sánchez admitted that Ábalos "informed" him of the visit, but argued that it was "private" and that he learned about the "sanctions" against the then Venezuelan vice president later. His version is that when he became aware that she could not set foot on Spanish soil, "that visit was canceled" for three days, which included a meeting with ministers. But Rodríguez did travel and landed at Barajas. This newspaper exclusively published images proving it.