U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Wednesday met in Venezuela with acting President Delcy Rodríguez in the latest sign of the Trump administration’s intent to exercise control over the South American country’s natural resources.
Burgum, who leads U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council, was expected to meet with U.S. and Venezuelan companies and “work for a legitimate mining sector and safe critical mineral supply chains,” according to a post on X by the U.S. diplomatic mission in Venezuela.
