WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will meet with Delcy Rodriguez, the acting president of Venezuela, for the first time next week since his administration carried out an operation to capture the nation's former leader and effectively put Rodriguez in charge.
The gathering in New York City between the two leaders will be a “pull-aside” — diplomatic speak for a meeting that is more casual than a formal bilateral sit-down — said Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump will be in town for the annual United Nations General Assembly.
Waltz also told reporters on a Friday call that Trump will meet with Andy Burnham, the United Kingdom prime minister, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The Trump-Burnham meeting will be their first since Burnham became prime minister in July.
Trump also will meet with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. The meeting comes as the U.S. has struggled to find an endgame to the Iran war after more than six months.
Rodríguez took over in Venezuela after a surprise U.S. military raid in January that captured then-leader Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.
The first meeting between Trump and Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s vice president, comes after the two countries announced an agreement last month to give the United States a stake in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. She described the deal as a step toward economic recovery that will modernize the country’s oil industry.
Senior administration officials said they couldn’t confirm whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would seek a meeting with Trump while in New York for the UN General Assembly, but suggested it was unlikely. The officials, who insisted on anonymity as a ground rule for holding the call, said that Netanyahu’s time in New York would be quite limited during the Israeli electoral season, and that the prime minister wasn’t expected to arrive there until after Trump leaves.
The officials also downplayed the prospects of the war in Iran dominating the annual gathering of world leaders.
Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about healthcare in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday Sept. 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s power grid collapsed once again on Friday, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity for at least the sixth time since U.S. President Donald Trump cut off fuel to the island in January.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the islandwide power outage on its official X account and added that officials had begun “activating service-restoration protocols.”
“No one can stand these constant blackouts. There isn’t enough food, there’s no water, there’s no electricity -- you have no idea,” Mercedes Rodriguez, a 60-year-old worker in Havana, told The Associated Press as she waited for public transportation to return home. “The country is in such a sad state, and there are no words for what we’re going through.”
According to Cuban authorities, a failure reportedly occurred in transmission lines in the western part of the country, causing the system to collapse in that area — as far as Matanzas province — and the eastern section of the island was subsequently disconnected.
The official newspaper Granma reported that “unstable” weather conditions further aggravated the grid’s situation.
By dusk, power had been restored to 5% of users in Havana, which has a total of about 862,000 customers, according to official data. Small power-distribution “micro-islands” were being established in the provinces of Camagüey, Pinar del Río and Granma. Some systems serving hospitals and other emergency facilities were being reactivated.
Power grid collapses have become increasingly common over the past two years because of the severe economic crisis gripping the island. They have worsened since January, after the United States imposed an energy blockade aimed at forcing a change in Cuba’s political system.
The restrictions prevent Cuba from importing the fuel needed to operate its thermoelectric power plants, as well as replacement parts required to maintain infrastructure that in many cases has become obsolete. Just one tanker of fuel has been delivered since, by a Russian tanker in March.
The two most recent nationwide blackouts occurred in early August, following others in July and March, as well as several regional outages.
Even when the national power grid is working, Cubans regularly endure outages lasting more than 30 consecutive hours.
The blackouts have had a significant impact on the population and, combined with the energy embargo, have led to transportation limitations, reduced work hours and flight cancellations, in addition to serious public health consequences.
The power outages also affect basic activities such as cooking, water supply, and internet and telephone service.
Abilén Marrero, a homemaker, sat resignedly at the entrance to her building in central Havana on Friday.
“Maybe it’ll come back this afternoon or tomorrow—there’s no way to know. We just have to wait," she said.
An elderly woman sits in the doorway of her home to catch the cool air during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A barber provides service to a client on a street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
People hang out near eggs for sale on a street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
A man charges his fan's battery at his doorway using a small solar panel set up on the street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
