Venezuela's New Leader Caught Between US Oil Demands and Maduro Loyalists
Delcy Rodriguez, sworn in Monday as Venezuela's interim president, insists she alone governs the country—directly contradicting US President Donald Trump's claim that Washington will 'run' Venezuela during a transition. Speaking Tuesday, Rodriguez denied foreign control while trying to balance cooperation with US oil demands against keeping Maduro loyalists on her side.
The power shift follows US special forces snatching Maduro and his wife from a Caracas military base Saturday during a bombing raid. Both pleaded not guilty Monday in New York to drug trafficking and 'narro-terrorism' charges. Rodriguez, whom Trump says he's willing to work with, faces pressure to open Venezuela's massive oil reserves to American companies while managing hardliners who control security forces and paramilitaries.
Rodriguez has made no cabinet changes—Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez retain their posts, wielding what analysts call the real power. Brian Naranjo, former US diplomat in Venezuela, warned: 'Delcy had better be sleeping with one eye open right now because right behind her are two men who would be more than happy to cut her throat.'
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, excluded from Washington's transition plans, called Rodriguez untrustworthy and a 'main architect of torture, narcotrafficking.' The Nobel laureate, speaking from an undisclosed location, vowed to return home soon and offered her Nobel prize to Trump. She predicts winning elections with 90% of votes within 30 days of Maduro's formal declaration of absence.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan journalists reported 16 media workers detained and released while covering events. Thousands marched in Caracas supporting Maduro, while Rodriguez has 90 days as interim president—extendable three months more. Will Rodriguez survive the tightrope walk between US demands and the knives behind her?