Washington DC - US Central Intelligence Agency head John Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela and met leader Delcy Rodriguez, a US administration official said Friday, in the highest-level American visit since the fall of Nicolas Maduro.

President Donald Trump sent the spy chief to Caracas on Thursday for a meeting that lasted approximately two hours, US sources said, less than two weeks after Maduro and his wife were seized in a US military operation.

"At President Trump's direction, Director Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to meet with interim president Delcy Rodriguez to deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship," the Trump administration official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official added that Ratcliffe and Rodriguez "discussed potential opportunities for economic collaboration and that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for America’s adversaries, especially narcotraffickers."

Ratcliffe sits at Trump's cabinet meetings and is the most senior official to travel to Venezuela since the US toppled leftist Maduro.

US sources billed the CIA chief's visit as a "trust-building measure" that paved the way for continued communication between Washington and Caracas.

The visit was coordinated between the White House, US State Department and the Pentagon, they added.

The visit came a day after Trump spoke to Rodriguez for the first time – and on the same day that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace prize at the White House.

Trump has so far backed Rodriguez, Maduro's former vice president and a former vocal ally of the ousted leader, to stay in charge so long as Venezuelan oil keeps flowing.

Machado said Friday her country is starting a "true transition" to democracy and will become free with support from the US and Trump.

"We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy," Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an "immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans" as well as around the region and the world.

"Venezuela is going to be free, and that's going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump," Machado said.

Machado also said Friday that Rodriguez is "following orders" rather than acting of her own will.

The opposition leader's party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election – claims supported by Washington and much of the international community.