In the 12 days since Nicolás Maduro’s capture, Delcy Rodríguez has worked to consolidate his power, placing loyal allies in key positions to protect against internal threats while also complying with U.S. demands to increase Venezuela’s oil production.
Rodríguez, a discreet but rigorous technocrat who served as vice president and oil minister, appointed a former central bank president to help manage the economy, a new chief of staff and a new leader of the feared DGCIM, the military counterintelligence agency created over decades with Cuban help.
Major General Gustavo González, 65, will now head the agency.
Three sources with knowledge of the government described the decision as a move by the interim president to combat the biggest threat to her leadership: Diosdado Cabello, the hard-line Interior Minister with close ties to the security services and the feared motorcyclist “collectives.”
“She has made it very clear that she has no ability to survive without the consent of the Americans,” said a source close to the government. “She is already reforming the armed forces, dismissing personnel and appointing new officers.”
Interviews with seven sources in Venezuela, including diplomats, businesspeople and politicians, reveal details about the risks Rodríguez faces in trying to consolidate internal control while complying with Washington’s mandates on oil sales.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The ambiguity that Rodríguez is trying to circumvent was evident in In her annual message to parliament on Thursday (15), she called for unity, emphasized her bona fides as Maduro’s loyal vice president and promised to forge a new chapter in Venezuelan politics with greater investment in oil.
Venezuela’s Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said Rodríguez had been very pleasant to deal with and that he hoped she would visit Washington at some point.
including the oil sector, and now also has US support. That support appeared to be reaffirmed on Thursday when she met with CIA Director John Ratcliffe in Caracas.
The other main group in the government is led by Cabello. The minister, who also leads the ruling socialist PSUV party, is a former military man and has a weekly four-hour program on state TV that has been on air for 12 years.
His first public act after Maduro’s capture was to appear on screen wearing a bulletproof vest and surrounded by armed guards, while leading a chant that said: “To doubt is to betray.”
US authorities contacted Cabello months before the operation against Maduro and have communicated with him since, four sources told Reuters, warning him not to use the security services or “colectivos” to attack the opposition.
Cabello is the target of accusations from the United States, which has offered a reward of US$25 million for her capture.
So far, Cabello has been conciliatory with Rodríguez, saying they are “very united.” But sources close to the two told Reuters he remained the biggest threat to the interim president’s ability to govern.
In Caracas, security forces are restless. Just hours after Rodríguez’s inauguration, there was a brief burst of anti-aircraft fire outside the presidential palace in what some feared could be another US attack.
However, reports suggest that it was a misunderstanding between the police and the presidential guard, which shot down police drones. The government claimed they were spy drones, without explaining who they belonged to.
Across the country, people are shocked by Maduro’s capture and don’t know whether to be hopeful or fearful. In some places, local PSUV affiliates asked their members to spy on their neighbors and report anyone celebrating Maduro’s ouster, according to three party members who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In this tense atmosphere, Rodríguez needs to convince party loyalists that he is not a US puppet who betrayed Maduro.
It also needs to stabilize an economy as commodity prices soared in the days after the U.S. attack, as well as fighting for some control over the extensive military-linked clientelistic networks that developed over decades of Chavista rule.
Venezuela has about 2,000 generals and admirals, more than twice as many as the US. Senior and retired officers control the distribution of food, raw materials and the state oil company PDVSA, while dozens of generals sit on the boards of private companies.
Many officers can run their regional fiefdoms as they see fit, ordering patrols or checkpoints for soldiers under their command, the sources say, and some parts of the country and the capital have seen an increase in security service activity since Maduro’s capture.
