The two-day visit is the latest move by the Trump administration to counter China’s tightened grip on critical minerals — resources essential for electric vehicles, missiles and other high-tech products — by establishing economic ties with Venezuela’s government following the reported capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum met Wednesday with Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez in Caracas, leading representatives of more than two dozen American mining and energy companies in talks aimed at opening Venezuela’s substantial mineral reserves to U.S. investment. Rodríguez announced she would introduce legislation to overhaul the country’s mining law to attract foreign capital, calling the expected change “a win for the social well-being of our people.”
The two-day visit, conducted in Burgum’s capacity as head of Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, is part of a broader administration push to counter China’s tightened control of critical minerals — resources essential for electric vehicles, missiles and other high-tech products. Many of the assembled companies had previously operated in Venezuela before the country’s political crisis, according to the Associated Press.
Burgum praised Rodríguez for her efforts “to cut the red tape and allow capital investment to flow.” Trump endorsed the meeting from Washington, posting on his Truth Social platform while the talks were underway: “Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well.”
“May the Venezuelan people also see the good aspects of having good relations with the world and with the United States of America,” Rodríguez told reporters.
Venezuela’s mineral base
Venezuela holds significant reserves of gold, copper, coltan, bauxite and diamonds, according to the AP. The elements niobium and tantalum — both designated as critical minerals and crucial for smartphones and electric vehicle batteries — are extracted from coltan. Bauxite is processed into aluminum, also on the U.S. critical minerals list. Unsafe working conditions are common in Venezuela’s poorly regulated mining industry, the AP reported.
Political context
Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president following the reported capture of former President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January. Burgum’s visit follows a February trip to Caracas by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, which focused on Venezuela’s oil sector. Rodríguez had been a close ally of Maduro before his removal. Before his capture, Maduro and his allies had argued that U.S. hostility toward Venezuela was motivated by the country’s oil and mineral wealth, according to the AP.
China-U.S. competition
The administration moved to secure U.S. supplies of critical minerals after China tightened restrictions on rare earth exports in response to Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The two countries have since reached a truce that pulled back on the highest import taxes and stepped-up restrictions, but China’s export limits remain tighter than they were before Trump took office, the AP reported.