Interim President appointed Captain Juan Escalona as Minister of the President’s Office
The interim president of Venezuela, incorporated, this Monday (12), into his cabinet a member of the escort of deposed president Nicolás Maduro, in one of the first ministerial changes of his government. Delcy appointed Captain Juan Escalona as minister of the Presidency’s Office, responsible for the presidential agenda, and who serves as a liaison with the different State bodies.
Escalona was part of Maduro’s security team, captured on the 3rd, during a US bombing of Caracas. Around 55 members of the scheme that protected Maduro died in that attack. Escalona’s presence at the first council of ministers with Delcy at its head, the following day, dispelled rumors that he had died in the incursion.
Escalona is part of the first changes in the new government, which is under pressure from Washington. In addition to him, another soldier, Aníbal Coronado, was appointed Minister of the Environment. The two appointments were announced by Delcy on her Telegram app account. “I know that your loyalty, capacity and commitment will carry forward the continued development of our Bolivarian government’s plans with the people”, published Delcy about Escalona, who was Chávez’s aide-de-camp. After the president’s death in 2013, he worked in Maduro’s security.
Escalona took office as a member of Parliament on the 5th, after winning a seat in last May’s elections. “Loyal to the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez and Maduro,” says his Instagram bio. Days ago, Delcy replaced the commander of the presidential guard, who also heads the feared counterintelligence, and appointed a new economic czar. The new government made a drastic change in Caracas’ relationship with Washington. President Donald Trump expressed that he is pleased with Maduro’s successor, with whom he indicated he intends to meet. The deposed president of Venezuela faces a drug trafficking trial in New York.
*With information from AFP
