Donald Trump sent former diplomat Richard Grenell, who served as the Acting Director of National Intelligence for a stint under the president’s first term, down to Venezuela to—as our Ward Clark put it—“explain to [strongman/dictator Nicolás] Maduro what the new rules are.”
It didn’t take long for Grenell to bring home results—in fact, after meeting with Maduro, Ric returned to the United States with six freed hostages:
The president took to social media to congratulate Grenell, who he named Presidential Envoy for Special Missions in December:
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The visit showcased a sharply different tone than we’ve seen in Venezuela’s recent, more tense interactions with the American government:
Grenell’s trip was believed to be the first direct meeting between a U.S. official and the autocrat since 2022.
Venezuela’s state-owned broadcaster showed Grenell shaking hands with a smiling Maduro in the Miraflores presidential palace, a striking image to capture the Trump administration’s first visit to Latin America. Later Friday, Grenell tweeted that he was returning to the United States with the six Americans.
Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence, and Maduro, the authoritarian socialist who has ruled Venezuela since 2013, met to discuss the Americans detained in the South American country, as well as deportation flights, cooperation to confront the Tren de Aragua gang and energy, according to one person familiar with the plan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.
Leading up to the trip, the White House made it clear that Grenell wasn’t headed down there to play around:
“I would urge the Maduro government, the Maduro regime in Venezuela, to heed special envoy Ric Grenell’s message,” said [Trump’s special envoy to Latin America, Mauricio] Claver-Carone, a former top national security aide to Trump during his first administration. “Ultimately there will be consequences otherwise.”
Sounds like, for now at least, Maduro got the message.
It’s almost hard to get used to so much activity and so many decisions—and let’s be honest, so much winning—after four long years of the Biden malaise. It almost takes some mental adjustment to acclimate to seeing a president answering questions, taking decisive action, and making positive things happen. It’s an adjustment I’m more than happy to make.
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This tweet does a pretty good job of summing up just today, Friday:
…and then he rescued 6 hostages from Venezuela and then he flew to Florida to spend the weekend with his supermodel wife. What a boss.
