Venezuelans wonder who’s in charge as Trump claims contact with Maduro’s deputy Rodríguez
- Jan 3
- 5 min read
BY NEWS BLEND 360
Updated 9:26 PM EST, January 3, 2026
CARACAS, Venezuela (NB360) — On Saturday, Venezuelans were left uncertain about their country's leadership after President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the U.S. military, removing the leader who had survived a failed coup attempt, several military uprisings, widespread protests, and economic sanctions in the extensive nation of 29 million people.
“What will happen tomorrow?” wondered Juan Pablo Petrone, a resident of Caracas, Venezuela's capital. As fear spread, the streets quickly emptied except for long lines at supermarkets and gas stations. “What will happen in the next hour?”
President Donald Trump provided a startling response: The United States would assume control of Venezuela, possibly in collaboration with one of Maduro’s closest aides.
Delcy Rodríguez, next in line for the presidency, had served as Maduro’s vice president since 2018, managing much of Venezuela’s oil-reliant economy as well as its notorious intelligence service.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump told reporters about Rodríguez, who had been sanctioned by the U.S. during Trump’s first term for her involvement in undermining Venezuelan democracy.
In a significant rebuff, Trump stated that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who received last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, lacked the support to lead the country.
Trump mentioned that Rodríguez had an extensive conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during which Trump claimed she expressed, “‘We’ll do whatever you need.’”
“I think she was quite gracious,” Trump added. “We can’t risk someone else taking over Venezuela who doesn’t prioritize the welfare of the Venezuelan people.”
Senior officials remain in place
Key Venezuelan officials seem to have survived the military operation and retained their positions, at least for now. There was no immediate indication that the U.S. was controlling Venezuela.
Rodríguez attempted to showcase strength and unity among the ruling party’s various factions, minimizing any suggestion of betrayal. In statements on state television, she called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and condemned the U.S. operation as a blatant violation of the United Nations charter.
“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” Rodríguez stated, flanked by top civilian officials and military leaders.
To calm the anxious public, Venezuelan military officials adopted a defiant stance in video messages, criticizing Trump and pledging to resist U.S. pressure.
“They have attacked us but will not break us,” declared Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino López, wearing military fatigues.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, one of Maduro’s key enforcers, called on Venezuelans to “take to the streets” to protect the nation’s sovereignty.
Speaking about the U.S., he said, “These rats attacked and they will regret what they did.”
Some Venezuelans responded to his appeal, demonstrating in favor of the government and burning American flags in various gatherings throughout Caracas on Saturday.
But most people stayed inside out of fear.
“What’s happening is unprecedented,” said Yanire Lucas, another Caracas resident, picking up pieces of glass from an explosion at a nearby military base that blew out the windows of her house.
“We’re still on edge, and now we’re unsure what to do.”
No sign of a political transition
Trump stated that Rodríguez had already been sworn in as Venezuela's president according to the constitutional transfer of power.
However, state television did not air any swearing-in ceremony.
In Rodríguez’s televised speech, a ticker at the bottom of the screen labeled her as the vice president. She showed no indication of cooperating with the U.S. and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,” she stated in her address. “History and justice will make the extremists who promoted this armed aggression pay.”
The Venezuelan constitution also mandates that a new election must be called within a month if the president is absent. However, experts are debating whether this succession scenario applies, given the government’s lack of popular legitimacy and the extraordinary U.S. military intervention.
Strong ties with Wall Street
Educated as a lawyer in Britain and France, Rodríguez has a long-standing role in representing the revolution initiated by the late Hugo Chávez on the international stage.
She and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who leads the Maduro-controlled National Assembly, possess strong leftist credentials rooted in tragedy. Their father, a socialist leader, died in police custody in the 1970s, a crime that deeply affected many activists of the time, including a young Maduro.
Unlike many in Maduro’s inner circle, the Rodríguez siblings have not faced criminal charges in the U.S.
Delcy Rodríguez established strong connections with Republicans in the oil industry and on Wall Street who opposed the idea of a U.S.-led regime change.
Among her previous interlocutors was Blackwater founder Erik Prince and, more recently, Richard Grenell, a Trump special envoy who attempted to negotiate a deal with Maduro for increased U.S. influence in Venezuela.
Internal tensions could erupt
Fluent in English, Rodríguez is sometimes portrayed as a well-educated, market-friendly moderate in contrast to the military hard-liners who took up arms with Chávez against Venezuela’s democratically elected president in the 1990s.
Many of them, especially Cabello, are wanted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges and stand accused of serious human rights abuses. But they continue to hold sway over the armed forces, the traditional arbiter of political disputes in Venezuela.
This poses significant challenges for Rodríguez in establishing authority. However, some analysts believe Venezuela’s power players will likely unite, as they have done in the past.
“These leaders recognize the importance of remaining united. Cabello has consistently accepted a secondary or tertiary role, understanding that his fate is intertwined with Maduro’s, and he may very well do so again,” stated David Smilde, a sociology professor at Tulane University who has been examining Venezuela’s political landscape for the last thirty years.
Smilde also noted that much will depend on the condition of Venezuela’s military following the U.S. bombing raid. “If their firepower is significantly reduced, they will be more vulnerable and weakened.”
An Snub to the Opposition
Just before Trump’s press conference, opposition leader Machado urged her ally Edmundo González — a retired diplomat widely regarded as having won the nation’s contested 2024 presidential election — to “immediately take on his constitutional role and be acknowledged as commander-in-chief.”
In a celebratory statement, Machado vowed that her movement would “restore order, free political prisoners, create an exceptional nation, and bring our children back home.”
She stated: “Today we are ready to claim our mandate and assume power.”
Trump appeared to dampen those expectations.
When questioned about Machado, Trump was straightforward: “I think it would be very difficult for (Machado) to become the leader,” he said, surprising many Venezuelan viewers who anticipated that Trump’s rhetoric about liberation implied a quick democratic transition.
“She lacks the support or respect within the country.”
Machado has not commented on Trump’s statements.
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