For the first time, Rodríguez laid out a vision for Venezuela’s new political reality — one that challenges her government’s most deeply rooted beliefs less than two weeks after the United States captured and toppled former President Nicolas Maduro.
Under pressure from the U.S. to cooperate with its plans for reshaping Venezuela’s sanctioned oil industry, Maduro's former vice president declared that a “new policy is being formed in Venezuela."
She urged the foreign diplomats in attendance to tell investors abroad about the changes and called on lawmakers to approve oil sector reforms that would secure foreign firms' access to Venezuela’s vast reserves.
Rodriguez also promoted the resumption of diplomacy with the United States. Her succinct, 44-minute speech and mollifying tone marked a dramatic contrast to her predecessors' fiery rants against U.S. imperialism that often went on for hours.
