Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez arrived in Barbados for her second official trip in office, El Pais reported on April 26. On April 24, Colombian President Gustavo Petro met with Rodriguez in Caracas, becoming the first head of state to visit Venezuela's capital since the Jan. 3 U.S. capture of then-President Nicolas Maduro. Why It Matters: Rodriguez will seek to consolidate power and develop partnerships with neighboring countries to pursue strategic goals, from fighting transnational criminal groups to deepening energy integration, as part of her broader balancing act of appeasing Washington while securing domestic political support. Regarding Colombia, both countries are likely to focus on defense and security cooperation since their shared border is widely used for drug trafficking, a priority issue for the U.S. Trump administration.