When Delta Force troopers rousted Nicolas Maduro out of REM sleep Saturday morning, everyone wondered what comes next?
In his press conference on Saturday, President Trump gave the impression that Venezuela was on a smooth trajectory to move beyond the devastation caused by Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro:
With Maduro now out of power, Trump said the U.S. will oversee Venezuela until a safe transition to a legitimate replacement for the deposed strongman can be identified.
"We have a group of people running [Venezuela] until such a time it can be put back on track, make a lot of money for [Venezuelans] … give people a great way of life, and also [reimburse the] people in our country who were forced out of Venezuela," Trump said.
The president added that, while it was his understanding that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was "just sworn in" [to the presidency] following Maduro's ouster, Rodriguez seemed willing to work with the U.S. to achieve what's best for Venezuelans.
"[Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio] is working on that directly. He just had a conversation with [Rodriguez], and she's essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again," Trump said.
According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, will serve as a caretaker president until new elections are conducted.
The Secretary of State said the US will not outright support the Maduro crony staying in power, calling for elections to determine the next leader of the beleaguered South American country.
“This is not about the legitimate president. We don’t believe that this regime in place is legitimate via an election,” Rubio told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “And that’s not just us. It’s 60-something countries around the world that have taken that view as well.
“Ultimately, legitimacy for their system of government will come about through a period of transition and real elections,” Rubio said. “It’s the reason why Maduro is not just an indicted drug trafficker. He [was an] illegitimate president. He was not the head of state.”
While I fully understand that politics and the political messaging that Trump is using to emphasize that regime change in Venezuela will not create an open-ended military mission, a "forever war" as a lot of Tucker Carlson's fans are fond of saying.
My colleague, Nickarama, was upbeat in yesterday's post, Power Play: Trump's 'Big Stick' Policy Has Venezuela's 'Interim' President Singing a Different Tune – RedState. But, quite honestly, I don't see how we get there from here.
Yes, the former vice president and current president of Venezuela did make pleasing noises, but I take them to be more in the line with the same strategy used by Maduro. Up until his last moments in power, he refused to openly defy President Trump; see "Maduro Says He's Ready to Play 'Let's Make a Deal' – RedState. Some of his overtures were in the most craven and unmanly forms possible.
In November, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro tried to prevent being from removed from power by dancing to a musical remix of his own "No War, Yes Peace" speech.
— Ryan Saavedra (@RyanSaavedra) January 3, 2026
Yes, this is real.pic.twitter.com/cS3Kxj7oNl
🇻🇪🇺🇸 | Maduro:
— Alerta Mundial (@AlertaMundoNews) November 23, 2025
“The people in the United States, listen to me.
Dialogue? Yes!
Peace? Yes!
Respect? Yes.
War? Listen to me, war no, never never war!”.pic.twitter.com/gSFaQlgp3q
But to his Venezuelan audience, he was a fire-breathing anti-Trumpist in the mold of Eric Swawell.
In a defiant speech, Maduro labelled Trump a “coward” and declared that he would be waiting for him in Miraflores. pic.twitter.com/6VUaRWrg27
— African Patriots News (@APatriotsNews) August 15, 2025
Let's review the bidding.
First and foremost, Delcy Rodriguez is a communist activist and a trusted deputy of both Chavez and Maduro.
Rodríguez, 56, is a stalwart of both the Chávez and Maduro governments, having served as Maduro’s oil minister and vice president. The daughter of a Marxist revolutionary, Rodríguez relentlessly defended the Maduro regime against accusations of drug-trafficking and election-stealing. She will be answerable to Venezuela’s socialist movement, chavismo, which is reeling from the toppling of its leader.
She was sanctioned by Trump 1.0 for "repressing dissent." Her brother, Diosdado Cabello Rondón, is the Interior Minister. He's the guy the Cubans work through in Venezuela. He has a $25 million bounty on his head by the DEA. Another brother, Vladimir Padrino López, is the Defense Minister, who, after the goat-rope on Saturday morning, may not be a prestigious position any longer, and has a $15 million reward.
Hasta que no liquiden o capturen a Diosdado Cabello y Vladimir Padrino López, la dictadura socialista en Venezuela sigue en pie. pic.twitter.com/f9jD3Fm90o
— Pregonero (@PregoneroL) January 3, 2026
Rodriguez herself is named in a civil suit in the Southern District of Florida for kidnapping, torture, and drug running.
Delcy Rodríguez es acusada en EEUU, informa @alandete
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) January 5, 2026
“Ciudadanos estadounidenses les acusan de secuestros, torturas, narcotráfico y de usar rehenes como moneda de cambio. La acción se presenta bajo la ley antiterrorista y RICO, una figura que trata al régimen como una empresa… pic.twitter.com/k2xeWql93o
Delcy Rodríguez is accused in the US, reports
“US citizens accuse them of kidnappings, tortures, drug trafficking, and of using hostages as bargaining chips. The action is brought under the anti-terrorist law and RICO, a statute that treats the regime as an organized criminal enterprise and allows for claims of millions in damages...”
It is highly unlikely that her boss and two brothers are indicted criminals, and Rodriquez isn't covered by a sealed indictment covering the same charges as Maduro. See Jennifer Oliver O'Connell's post titled 'Chavismo,' on Full Display: Why These Equally Complicit Venezuelan Leaders Must Be Removed From Power – RedState.
Even as Rodriquez was making pleasing noises, she was ordering a January 6-style witchhunt for anyone who celebrated Maduro's removal; see Venezuela Now Hunting Supporters of Maduro's U.S. Capture – RedState.
Her actions since being sworn in also indicate that it is business as usual for the Bolivarian Republic. Despite an initial outburst of enthusiasm, it seems clear that the security apparatus and institutions created by Hugo Chavez have held firm, and the government is firmly in power. Oil deliveries, by sanctioned tankers, continued at full speed even as Rodriguez promised cooperation. Were I cynical, I'd think that the Rodriguez government is using the current relaxation of hostilities as a smokescreen to maximize oil exports.
About a dozen tankers loaded with Venezuelan oil departed from the country in dark mode, seemingly breaking a US blockade, https://t.co/HiarHQQtNy said. The ships are under sanctions. A separate group of vessels also under sanctions left the country empty https://t.co/LqaG1IXuqq
— Marianna Párraga (@mariannaparraga) January 5, 2026
In short, the only thing that has changed since Saturday is that Maduro is gone. Making matters worse, it seems that the criminal enterprise that is the government of Venezuela has no intention of reforming itself. Rather than making the mistake we made in Iraq of attempting to install a hapless Ahmed Chalabi, we may have made a worse error in allowing ourselves to believe that one of Chavez and Maduro's strongest supporters would be willing to dismantle the criminality and oppression that kept them both in power.
The greatest tragedy is that keeping the Chavez state intact will stop the return of some 7 million Venezuelans who fled the country. These include just about anyone with ambition and ability. In the immortal words of Roger Daltrey: "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
In the Army Infantry, we had a saying, "We ain't got time to do it right, but we always got time to do it over." That is where I fear we are. I hope I'm wrong, but in less than six weeks, we may well find ourselves with the same government in Venezuela, this one run by someone more competent and less clownish than Maduro.
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