Close President Trump ally Richard Grenell secretly met with a representative from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government last month in an effort to negotiate the dictator’s ceding of power, according to a report.
Grenell, who previously served as acting director of national intelligence and ambassador to Germany, met in mid-September with Jorge Rodríguez, the former vice president of the socialist country and a Maduro confidante, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
The former Trump administration official, who currently handles LGBTQ outreach for the Republican National Committee, met with Rodríguez in Mexico, just outside the capital of Mexico City.
When Grenell raised the topic of Maduro’s peaceful exit from power to Rodríguez, it was not clear if Maduro or Rodríguez would be open to the possibility, and the talks were eventually deemed unsuccessful, the outlet reported.
Grenell’s meeting was not disclosed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or anyone else in the State Department beforehand, something the New York Times reports created some confusion among officials about the trip.
Venezuela has been embroiled in social and economic ruin for years under Maduro’s socialist dictatorship, and his government has not been recognized by the United States and at least 50 other countries since his 2018 re-election was mired in fraud.
The commander-in-chief has repeatedly said he would be willing to meet with the embattled leader, though only with conditions.
In a June interview with Axios, he told the outlet he had considered the idea because Maduro wanted it, but added that he had turned the Venezuelans down.
“I would maybe think about that. … Maduro would like to meet,” the president told the network, adding, “I’m never opposed to meetings — you know, rarely opposed to meetings.”
“I always say, you lose very little with meetings. But at this moment, I’ve turned them down.”
After that interview gained traction, Trump took to Twitter to clarify his comments.
“Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela. My Admin has always stood on the side of FREEDOM and LIBERTY and against the oppressive Maduro regime!” the president said in a tweet.
“I would only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power!” Trump added.
A National Security Council spokesperson declined to comment when reached by The Post.