WASHINGTON, January 17. /TASS/. Felix Plasencia, a senior envoy for Venezuela’s authorized President Delcy Rodriguez, has visited Washington for consultations with senior US officials, The Washington Post (WP) reported.

Plasencia, who previously served as the Bolivarian republic’s foreign minister, "was visiting Washington for high-level talks," the newspaper wrote without elaborating.

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Rodriguez was set to dispatch Plasencia to the United States for talks.

The WP reported earlier, citing a US official, that on January 15 Rodriguez received CIA chief John Ratcliffe in Caracas. During a two-hour meeting, Ratcliffe discussed "potential opportunities for economic collaboration" between the two countries as he stated that "Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narco traffickers."

On January 3, US President Donald Trump announced a military operation in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife by American forces. On January 5, the couple appeared before the US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, where they face charges of alleged involvement in drug trafficking. Both have pleaded not guilty. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president. Meanwhile, Trump said that Washington would "run" Venezuela in the interim.