Since the U.S. ousted Maduro, the former vice president has been working to meet the Trump administration’s demands — while at times publicly denouncing what the U.S. has done — and all the while working to consolidate her control over the regime and country. Per Bloomberg:
[Rodríguez] has seamlessly moved into the role of acting president. She has chaired meetings with senior officials, greeted international envoys, welcomed the press at Miraflores Palace and met privately with diplomats. But beneath the continuity, the bedrock of Chavismo — Venezuela’s brand of socialism — is beginning to shift as Rodríguez quickly moves to consolidate authority and unite the fractured ruling coalition. There are some subtle changes. Rodríguez’s days start earlier, her public remarks are far more concise and the marathon speeches that defined Maduro’s rule are gone. Public officials are now allowed back on X.Other moves are far more consequential, including a reshaping of the cabinet and security apparatus and the release of dozens of political prisoners. Decisions on senior personnel are being received positively by the Trump administration, according to one person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing sensitive deliberations.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have repeatedly said that Rodríguez has been doing what the administration tells her. Trump has called her a “terrific person” and last week told Reuters that she “has been very good to deal with.” He also said that he thinks she’s “eventually” going to come to the White House, and that “I’ll go to their country too.”
In her state of the union speech Thursday, Rodríguez called for opening the country’s oil sector to foreign investment.
The regime has also moved to reopen the U.S. embassy in Caracas and has already hosted a U.S. delegation. At the same time, Rodríguez and other regime officials have been trying to have it all ways, signaling willing partnership and shared opportunity with Trump and the U.S., while also insisting they are just as anti-imperialist as they ever were.
On Thursday, Rodríguez met in Caracas with CIA director John Ratcliffe, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country since the invasion. His high-profile visit was reportedly intended to further signal the administration’s support for Rodríguez as the country’s interim leader. (Ahead of the Maduro operation, a CIA assessment indicated that Rodríguez would be the best choice to take over and maintain stability in the country.)
Here’s what Freddy Guevara, the former vice president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, who has been living in exile for the past four years, recently told Reveal about Rodríguez and her grip on power:
I know her and I know her brother. I was involved, as I said, in negotiation processes and they were both in there. And I have to tell you that they are not moderate at all, they are super radical, and they believe they are smarter than everyone. I am sure that what they’re trying to do is to convince Trump or the Trump administration to allow them to have kind of a Saudi Arabia or China in Latin America. Which means international investments, but no political freedom for example. I think that’s her plan A.
I think their plan B is to outsmart Trump and figure it out, how to survive and buy time, make small concessions enough to not get them out of power.
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