The change of command in Chavismo, forced by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, has led to an unusual meeting. , met this Thursday in Caracas with the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, as revealed The New York Times. According to sources from the American newspaper, the meeting discussed “possible opportunities for economic collaboration” and it was stressed that Venezuela can no longer be a safe haven for the United States’ adversaries, especially drug traffickers.
The visit of the head of the US intelligence agency coincided with the presentation, by Rodríguez, of the management report of President Nicolás Maduro, detained in New York after the intervention of the United States army on January 3, before the National Assembly and, almost at the same time, with the delivery by the opposition leader María Corina Machado
during a military intervention by US special forces, Trump has strengthened his control over Venezuela, particularly over its oil production. Its goal is to expand the participation of more American companies as part of an agreement with the new president. Months ago, when a broad military deployment threatened Chavismo from the Caribbean Sea, its leaders warned that, in the event of an attack, “not a single drop of oil” would leave Venezuela bound for the United States.
The Trump Administration’s political decision to support Rodríguez instead of Machado was based on a classified analysis by the agency, which warned about the instability that Machado’s arrival to the presidency could cause at this time, according to US media. Intelligence reports maintained that the opposition leader, despite the significant popular support obtained in the 2024 elections, would have difficulties controlling the Government and the Armed Forces after almost three decades of the Chavista revolution.
The operation that led to the capture of Maduro and his wife was also preceded by months of work by the agency. and since August, the CIA had quietly deployed a small team to track Maduro’s patterns, locations and movements, facilitating the intervention earlier this month, according to CNN. Thus they managed to identify an informant within the Government who allowed the Chavista leader to be followed until his capture, in the early hours of January 3, in one of his residences in Fuerte Tiuna.
For years, the CIA was the great declared enemy of Chavismo, which turned the fight against US interventionism into one of its main banners. This distrust led Hugo Chávez, in 2005, to break anti-drug cooperation with the United States and expel the DEA, under the argument that it was carrying out espionage work against his Government. He also reinforced the intelligence services with support from Cuba. Maduro’s security was left in the hands of Cuban agents, who ended up murdered during the US military intervention. The high command that now directs the Bolivarian revolution has given a radical turn to that position.
Last week, the visit of the United States chargé d’affaires to Venezuela, John McNamara, took place. The diplomat arrived with the mission of evaluating the conditions for an eventual reopening of the embassy. This Friday, two days after the call between Trump and Rodríguez and after Ratcliffe’s visit, flights with Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States were reactivated. An American plane left Phoenix with 199 returnees and landed at noon in Maiquetía.
During 2025, despite the tensions, Venezuela and the United States maintained two weekly repatriation flights, one of Trump’s main interests. In total, nearly 100 flights with deportees have been completed; the last one before this reactivation had taken place at the beginning of December.
