Briefing
On the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York a meeting took place on 21/22 September 2026 between Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. According to consistent reports by Spanish and international news agencies, Rodríguez sought brief personal contact and asked for dialogue on the situation in Venezuela to continue. Sánchez and his advisers indicated that contact would be maintained.
Moncloa‑records show that Sánchez attended events around the General Assembly on 22 September and met UN Secretary-General António Guterres ; however, the Spanish Prime Minister’s website provides no detailed account of a longer bilateral meeting with the Venezuelan delegation. Agencies and leading media outlets also reported that Rodríguez had already met Guterres and representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, and that a meeting with the President of the United States had been announced for Tuesday.
Against the backdrop of these numerous contacts, the central claim that Rodríguez asked Sánchez for a meeting and that both agreed to continue dialogue has been confirmed by several reputable media outlets. It should nevertheless be noted that neither the Moncloa nor Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a detailed joint statement in their official daily reports about a formal bilateral meeting with Delcy Rodríguez. The available record therefore includes both substantiated information about a meeting and reasonable limitations in the official documentation.
Descriptions of Rodríguez as an “interim president” without reliable evidence, or claims that Nicolás Maduro was “removed and kidnapped”, are unsubstantiated and were not confirmed by the sources reviewed. Further reporting should therefore rely on primary sources or direct official statements from the governments involved to avoid unclear attributions.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).