In her first days as interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez announced a new security chief and a change in the Ministry of Economy. Late on Tuesday night, the 6th, she appointed General Gustavo González López as the new head of the Presidential Honor Guard and the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM), a state TV network reported.
Lopéz is under sanctions from the United States and the European Union over accusations of human rights violations and surveillance of political opponents, including during anti-government protests in 2014. In addition to him, at least half a dozen high-ranking officials in the country face similar charges.
Previously, the general served as Venezuela’s intelligence director until mid-2024, when he was replaced on the orders of Nicolás Maduro, in a reshuffle of his cabinet and security team.
Later that year, Lopéz began working with Rodríguez as head of strategic and control affairs at the state-owned oil company PDVSA. He now replaces General Javier Marcano Tábata, who is also under US sanctions and whose performance came into question after Maduro’s capture.
The new security chief was considered close to Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace since 2024, a department that controls the State’s intelligence service. However, it is still unclear whether the appointment represents a gesture of support for the leader or a sign of rupture.
Change in the economy
In the wake of these reformulations, Rodríguez also announced on Tuesday the appointment of Calixto Ortega, former president of the Central Bank, as vice president of Economy. He precisely replaces the interim president in the position she held with the leadership of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons before the North American military operation.
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In addition to the BC, Ortega held diplomatic and financial positions in Venezuela and has experience in the oil industry. According to Delcy Rodríguez, the objective of the appointment is to strengthen national production and food sovereignty.
She also reiterated the goal of consolidating the 2025 results and advancing further, citing ECLAC’s 6.5% growth estimate for the last year.
According to information from Agence France-PresseVenezuela faced a devaluation of the local currency of almost 500%, which raises a warning of hyperinflation.
On the other hand, experts improved their prospects for 2026 with Delcy Rodríguez at the head of the government, notes the AFP.
This perspective is justified because Delcy took the reins of economic policy during the years of the deepest crisis, when he relaxed controls and decriminalized the use of the dollar.
Agreement for oil
The measures were released after Donald Trump announced that the country agreed to send between 30 and 50 million barrels of “high quality” oil to the United States.
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The interim president takes over the government under the supervision of Donald Trump, who ordered the bombing of Caracas that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, accused of drug trafficking in the United States.
The Republican expressed interest in Venezuela’s oil reserves. And on Tuesday, the 6th, Trump used social media to announce that Venezuela’s interim government had agreed to send between 30 and 50 million barrels of “high quality” oil to the country.
“This oil will be sold at market price, and the money will be controlled by me, as president of the United States, to ensure that it is used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States,” he said in a publication on Truth Social, a network created by the president himself.
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According to him, the plan will be implemented by Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, and the oil will be transported by storage ships to unloading terminals in the United States.
On the other hand, interim president Delcy Rodríguez stated on Tuesday that “no external agent” governs the country. “The government of Venezuela is in force in our country, no one else, there is no external agent that governs Venezuela”, in a televised speech.
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