By The Rio Times | Created at 2026-09-11 16:31:31 | Updated at 2026-09-11 17:43:51
1 hour ago
Suriname · Diplomacy
Key Facts
—The visit. Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez arrived in Paramaribo on Thursday night, September 10, for a state visit — her fifth official trip since taking office after the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.
—The agenda. Talks with President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons on Friday covered oil and gas, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education and transport, plus cooperation inside regional and international organizations.
—The friction. Simons put a court-ordered attachment on PDVSA assets in Suriname — tied to the old PetroCaribe compensation mechanism — directly on the table, asking Rodríguez about recent developments.
—The next step. Simons proposed convening the countries’ Political Consultation Mechanism and Mixed Commission in the first half of 2027.
—The city. Central Paramaribo was kept car-free at several points on Friday for the state visit, with police traffic measures around the Presidential Palace.
—The backdrop. A Starnieuws column, “Delcy, Trump and our oil,” frames the visit through Washington’s giant oil agreement with Caracas — and what it means for Suriname’s own petroleum future.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, made a state visit to Suriname on September 10–11 for talks on oil, agriculture and trade — a meeting that also produced the first presidential-level airing of a court attachment on PDVSA assets in the country.
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A Car-Free Center for a Careful Guest
Rodríguez landed at Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport on Thursday evening, where Foreign Minister Melvin Bouva received the Venezuelan delegation. On Friday morning, central Paramaribo was temporarily kept car-free at several points as police managed traffic around the state visit and the events at the Presidential Palace, Surinamese media reported.
At the palace, President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons received Rodríguez for their first in-person meeting as heads of state. An earlier attempt to organize the visit had fallen through; according to Bouva, renewed effort on both sides made this one happen.
Rodríguez told reporters that several cooperation agreements would be signed under what Caracas calls its Bolivarian Diplomacy of Peace. “We are very committed to our bilateral agenda; we will sign important agreements in different areas of cooperation. I always insist that this is the path: friendship, cooperation, a relationship where both countries and both peoples can benefit,” she said, according to the Venezuelan presidency’s press office.
Oil, Fish and Poultry: What Was Actually Discussed
Bouva, who visited Caracas in May to sign an integration roadmap with his then-counterpart Yván Gil, laid out the concrete agenda in Suriname Herald: an existing and active fishing relationship — Venezuelan vessels and fishers operate in Surinamese waters, and Venezuelan companies are investing in the local fishing sector, with at least one partnership with a Surinamese firm already in place; agricultural production; oil and gas; tourism; and better connections between the two countries.
On education, both sides are looking at capacity building, above all training for the petroleum sector — an area where Bouva says Venezuela has experience Suriname can use as its own offshore industry, led by TotalEnergies’ roughly US$10.5 billion GranMorgu project, moves toward production. The two countries’ diplomatic training institutes will also deepen cooperation. The Venezuelan presidency added that both nations expect to convene a High-Level Mixed Commission and continue recent trade-exchange agreements, including a review of Venezuela’s agro-export offer for the poultry sector.
Bouva also floated evaluating the old PetroCaribe agreement — the Chavez-era discounted-oil scheme — to see how it might be carried forward, though he made no concrete announcements on new PetroCaribe terms.
The PDVSA Attachment, Raised at the Highest Level
The sharpest item of the day came from Simons herself. She raised the case of an executory third-party attachment on assets of the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA in Suriname, connected to the PetroCaribe compensation mechanism between the two countries, Suriname Herald reported. Simons stressed that the legal procedures are still running and that no definitive court ruling exists — and asked Rodríguez whether there were recent developments on the matter from the Venezuelan government.
“Suriname remains committed to resolving outstanding bilateral issues in a constructive, friendly and mutually respectful manner,” Simons said. She also proposed that the Political Consultation Mechanism and the Mixed Commission between the two countries meet in the first half of 2027 to deepen technical cooperation, and repeated Suriname’s condolences for the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.
“Delcy, Trump and Our Oil”
The visit landed in a charged regional context. A Starnieuws column published Friday — titled “Delcy, Trump en onze olie” (“Delcy, Trump and our oil”) — reads the trip through the recent agreement between the Trump administration and Venezuela covering some 65 billion barrels of oil: 100-year concessions on 17 oil fields holding more than a fifth of Venezuela’s reserves, with Rodríguez speaking of more than US$100 billion in investment. The column notes the deal has drawn fire from both the Venezuelan opposition and Chavismo hardliners — former PDVSA chief Rafael Ramírez called it “the biggest robbery in our history” — and asks what Washington’s grip on Venezuelan crude means for Suriname’s own oil choices.
For foreigners in the region, the significance is straightforward: Venezuela’s acting president — sworn in after US special forces captured Maduro and his wife on January 3 and flew them to New York to await trial on drug charges — is now touring neighbors to lock in trade and energy ties. After Grenada, Barbados, The Hague and India, Paramaribo is stop number five, and the first where a host president put a legal claim against PDVSA on the table in the room.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Delcy Rodríguez visit Suriname?
For a state visit on September 10–11, 2026, centered on oil and gas, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, education and transport. Venezuela’s acting president said several cooperation agreements would be signed; both sides plan a High-Level Mixed Commission and further trade-exchange deals.
What is Delcy Rodríguez’s current title?
She is Venezuela’s acting president — “presidenta encargada” — sworn in after the US capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026. Surinamese officials refer to her as the acting or serving president; Suriname’s government protocol used “President Delcy Rodríguez” for the visit.
What is the PDVSA issue Suriname raised?
President Simons raised an executory third-party attachment on PDVSA assets in Suriname linked to the PetroCaribe compensation mechanism. Court procedures are ongoing with no final ruling; Simons asked whether the Venezuelan government had recent developments to report.
