By David Brunnstrom
NEW YORK, Jan 13 (Reuters) – A small but powerful cabal of political and military officials has long commanded power in Venezuela, supported by a wide network of loyalists and security agencies. That system has remained intact despite the U.S. ouster of President Nicolas Maduro, who was being held in New York on narcoterrorism charges as his successor was sworn in as interim leader.
Who are the most powerful people in Venezuela? And who are the U.S. officials deciding the country’s future?
Here’s a breakdown:
Venezuela
DELCY RODRIGUEZ
Who she is: Venezuela’s interim president
Portfolio: Maduro’s former vice president, she’s running the country under the oversight of the United States.
Why she matters: A seasoned lawyer and longtime party official, she’s known as the “tsarina” for the economic power she accrued as vice president, oil minister and finance minister. She’s technically under sanction for serving in the Maduro government, but she has won the trust of the U.S. government (for now) and is seen by U.S. oil company executives as most able to work with them to rebuild the country’s degraded energy infrastructure.
JORGE RODRIGUEZ
Who he is: The brother of interim President Delcy Rodriguez, he is head of Venezuela’s National Assembly, a position he has held since 2021.
Portfolio: He leads the legislature where the ruling socialist party has a supermajority.
Why he matters: Rodriguez has long led the Maduro government’s outreach efforts to the U.S. and political opposition, leading past negotiations to hammer out election conditions and prisoner releases. According to sources in Washington and Caracas, he is seen, along with his sister, as a reasonable interlocutor for foreign governments and is expected to spearhead moves to modify oil legislation to allow the presence of additional foreign companies.
DIOSDADO CABELLO
Who he is: Venezuela’s interior minister
Portfolio: Cabello is feared for the control he exerts over Venezuela’s military counterintelligence agency, DGCIM, and so-called “colectivos,” motorcycle gangs allied to the ruling party and known for intimidating opposition supporters.
Why he matters: Cabello is seen as the main enforcer of oppression, and the leading torch-carrier for “Chavismo” in Venezuela. He has been indicted by the U.S. on narcoterrorism charges, which he denies, and there is a $25 million reward for his capture. Washington has warned he could become a prime target for arrest if he does not cooperate with Rodriguez.
VLADIMIR PADRINO
Who he is: Venezuela’s defense minister
Portfolio: Commands the armed forces, seen as crucial by U.S. officials to avoid a power vacuum during transition.
Why he matters: Less dogmatic than Cabello, he’s pledged allegiance to Delcy Rodriguez and is considered more likely to toe the U.S. line while eventually seeking his own safe exit. Padrino has held his position for more than 11 years despite a U.S. drug smuggling indictment and a $15 million reward for his capture.
MARIA CORINA MACHADO
Who she is: Venezuela’s top opposition leader and Nobel Prize laureate
Portfolio: Machado has spent her career trying to unseat the ruling party and decrying abuses by Maduro’s government, which accuses her of treason.
Why she matters: Machado swept the opposition primary ahead of the 2024 presidential elections before Maduro’s government barred her from running in the general election. Despite Machado’s close coordination with some members of the administration, U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the possibility that she could lead the country, saying she “doesn’t have the support to govern.”
United States
MARCO RUBIO
Who he is: U.S. secretary of state and acting national security advisor
Portfolio: Apart from Trump, the former U.S. senator is the most public face of the administration’s Venezuela operation, and is deeply involved in U.S. efforts to pressure Venezuela’s leaders into following U.S. directions.
Why he matters: The Cuban-American and Spanish speaker has long taken interest in Latin American affairs. Unseating Maduro is the fulfillment of his long-sought ambition and he has said since that he would like the Cuban government to come next. He is in direct contact with interim President Delcy Rodriguez to ensure Venezuela acts in U.S. interests.
JOHN RATCLIFFE
Who he is: U.S. director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Portfolio: Ratcliffe heads the main U.S. intelligence-gathering organization and is part of the core team that has been working on Venezuela for months.
Why he matters: Trump ally Ratcliffe is on the sometimes-daily leadership meetings and calls with a Venezuela team that includes Rubio, White House aide Stephen Miller and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The CIA played a crucial role in the operation that spirited Maduro out of Venezuela, sources told Reuters. It had a small team on the ground starting in August who were able to monitor his movements and pinpoint his exact location as the operation unfolded, they said.
STEPHEN MILLER
Who he is: White House deputy chief of staff for policy
Portfolio: Architect of the president’s immigration crackdown, which has focused on Latin America, including Venezuela.
Why he matters: Miller wields immense power over multiple areas of the West Wing. Under his leadership, the administration dramatically ramped up immigration arrests, and pushed the legal limits of deportations. Now he is articulating a view that the world is “governed by strength,” whether that’s removing a foreign government or taking Greenland by any means necessary.
PETE HEGSETH
Who he is: U.S. secretary of defense
Portfolio: Responsible for U.S. military operations worldwide, including the operation that removed Maduro from Venezuela.
Why he matters: Hegseth orchestrated a massive U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean in recent months, unleashing deadly strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, and using those forces to carry out the lightning raid that led to the capture of Maduro. Hegseth carries the stick of potential additional raids on Venezuela if the current government does not cooperate with Washington.
CHRIS WRIGHT
Who he is: U.S. secretary of energy
Portfolio: Responsible for U.S. energy policy worldwide, including Venezuela’s future oil industry and trade.
Why he matters: The climate-change skeptic and former Trump donor is charged with carrying out Trump’s plan to rebuild Venezuela’s oil sector. He said he expects to see U.S. firm Chevron grow its activities there along with ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil, which have not been active in Venezuela for decades. Wright also said Washington would not allow Venezuela to be a client state of China, though it has allowed oil sales to China to continue.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom. Editing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Michael Learmonth.)
