Delcy Rodríguez receives Santiago Peña at Miraflores after 20 months of ruptured ties with Paraguay

Acting president Delcy Rodríguez received Paraguay's president, Santiago Peña, at Miraflores Palace on September 19, according to VTV's broadcast. Foreign ministers Félix Placencia and Rubén Ramírez Lescano signed a joint communiqué that, per VTV, seeks to rebuild diplomatic and consular channels between the two countries.

Paraguay had broken relations with Caracas in January 2025 after Peña recognized Edmundo González as the winner of the 2024 election, El Heraldo reported. Per that outlet, Peña is the second foreign head of state to visit Venezuela since Nicolás Maduro's capture by U.S. authorities in January, and the agenda included migration, trade, and a Paraguayan oil debt estimated at $300 million.

«This reaffirms both governments' will to begin a path toward rebuilding official diplomatic and consular channels.»— VTV, September 20, 2026 · watch