India to buy oil from Venezuela? Rubio announces Rodriguez’s visit next week

In an unusual move, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday (May 21) announced that the Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez will be travelling to India next week to hold discussions on selling oil. The statement highlights the influence of Washington over Caracas and its oil industry following the ouster of former leader Nicolas Maduro. Rubio’s remarks come ahead of his own planned trip to the country starting Saturday. This comes amid a global energy supply crisis due to the Iran war.

“We want to sell them as much energy as they’ll buy,” Rubio said. “We also think there’s opportunities with Venezuelan oil. In fact, it’s my understanding that the interim president of Venezuela will be traveling to India next week as well.”

“There’s a lot to work on with India. They’re a great ally, a great partner,” he added.

Rodriguez took office after the US military bombed Caracas and captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their presidential palace. Since then, she has maintained close ties with US President Donald Trump’s administration for cooperating with Washington, including by assisting oil companies. Venezuela is home to world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Rodriguez is known to have longstanding ties with India, being a follower of late guru Sathya Sai Baba. Known for her spiritual inclinations rooted in India, she has made several visits to Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam in Andhra Pradesh’s Puttaparthi. She visited the ashram in 2019, 2023 and most recently in October 2024. During her October 2024 trip to India, shortly after the BRICS summit in Kazan, Rodríguez met then Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar in New Delhi before making a personal visit to Puttaparthi with her delegation.