CIA director meets Venezuela's acting president in Caracas

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director John Ratcliffe has traveled to Venezuela to meet with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, becoming the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit the South American country after the U.S. raid that captured former leader Nicolás Maduro.

The meeting Thursday in Caracas, the capital, lasted two hours, according to a U.S. government official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke Friday on condition of anonymity.

The official said the meeting came at the urging of President Donald Trump and was meant to demonstrate the desire by the U.S. for a better relationship with Venezuela. It occurred the same day Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump at the White House even as he has effectively sidelined her.

Ratcliffe’s visit is likely to be seen as another sign of Trump’s willingness to work with Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second in command until the audacious U.S. military operation two weeks ago that spirited him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

The visit, which included a small team of American officials and was first reported by The New York Times, was intended to lay the groundwork for additional cooperation between the Trump administration and Venezuela's new leaders, the official said.

Ratcliffe discussed potential economic collaboration between the two countries and warned that Venezuela can never again allow the presence of American adversaries, including drug traffickers, the official said.

The CIA played a key role in the operation to apprehend Maduro, providing critical intelligence support, as well as mounting an earlier drone strike on a dock used by cartels, U.S. officials have said.

A day after Ratcliffe's visit to Caracas, Machado told reporters in Washington that she was “profoundly, profoundly confident that we will have an orderly transition” to democracy in her country.

Machado said she rejected the notion that Trump has chosen to work with Rodríguez over her opposition movement, which is widely believed to have won the 2024 presidential election.

Rodríguez used her first state of the union message as acting president Thursday to advocate for opening the crucial state-run oil industry to more foreign investment following the Trump administration’s pledge to oversee Venezuelan crude sales.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, giving no timetable on when elections might be held. In turn, Machado took pains when pressed Friday to avoid giving any details on her plans to return home or when elections might be held.

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado — the longtime face of the fight for democracy in Venezuela — to lead her country because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country."

In this photo released by the White House, President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Venezuela, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, left, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026. (Molly Riley/The White House via AP)

CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrives for a classified briefing with senators on the situation in Venezuela, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez addresses the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrives at the U.S. Capitol Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Washington, to brief top lawmakers after President Donald Trump directed U.S. forces to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for 40 years, had an early lead Friday in a tense presidential election marred by an internet shutdown, voting delays and opposition allegations of ballot stuffing and detentions by security forces.

Provisional results from half of the polling stations tallied so far showed Museveni with more than 70% of the vote while his main challenger Robert Kyagulanyi, the musician-turned-opposition leader best known as Bobi Wine, had 19%, according to the national electoral commission. Wine asked his supporters to “ignore fake results being announced.”

Activists protesting against the election results so far lit bonfires in the capital, Kampala, on Friday afternoon as the provisional results were being announced. The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert urging its citizens to be cautious as security officers were "firing into the air to disperse gatherings".

The 81-year-old Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Wine, who is calling for political change, said he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before the voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent alleged electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.

Wine was hoping to end Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside Wine's house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.

“He is a person of interest. He is a contestant,” police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told local broadcaster NBS, suggesting heavy security deployment around Wine’s home was for his own security.

Several people were killed and others were injured in a violent incident in central Uganda that involved supporters of two parliamentary candidates, Rusoke said. He said that more than 20 opposition supporters were arrested.

Rusoke also said police had dispersed a group of “rowdy and riotous youth” in Kawempe, an area of Kampala. Witnesses in Kawempe said they heard gunfire as police in the streets dispersed protesters disputing the victory of a rival parliamentary candidate.

The security forces were a constant presence throughout the election campaign, and Wine said authorities followed him and harassed his supporters, using tear gas against them. He campaigned in a flak jacket and helmet due to his security fears.

Wine wrote Thursday on X that a senior official in his party in charge of Uganda's western region had been arrested. He charged that there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”

Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.

To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results then. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)