Since the United States incursion in Caracas on January 3 and the subsequent capture of Nicolás Maduro, the president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has made sensitive changes in key areas of the State, while the rapprochement with the White House is accentuated. What is the dynamic like now between the groups of the so-called Bolivarian power?

First modification: 04/23/2026 - 03:37Last modification: 04/23/2026 - 03:47

First came the narrative, then came the measures, now the transformation of the structure seems to be consolidated. The president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, decided to remove people very close to Nicolás Maduro from key positions in the government scheme. Measures that, according to analysts, have the approval of the White House.

The removed figures resonate in the international press and the functions they occupied have a specific sensitivity that involved specific moments for each case.

Beyond the reasons, analysts consulted by France 24 en Español agree that the new Venezuelan leader seeks to create her own circle of trust, in accordance with the policies implemented since January 3.

"He has appointed people he trusts with a slightly more technical profile than there was before," says Txomin Las Heras Leizaola, president of the Colombian-Venezuelan Citizen Dialogue Association, an organization based in Colombia.

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At the same time, the analyst considers that there is a negotiation between different factions within Chavismo: "We have seen castling. Moving a person from one place to another, from one ministry to another, from one position to another. I believe that with the intention of keeping the different factions happy, of giving them, in some way, some share of power."

For his part, José Mendoza, political scientist and university professor, describes as “strategic” the replacements of “key figures and personnel closest to Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.”

"Understanding that Delcy Rodríguez assumes political control of the Government, she undoubtedly requires control of ministries and organizations that are key and that must follow a line in accordance with the new political landscape. She necessarily has to have key figures aligned under her control," he reflects.

Read alsoThe "repressive apparatus" in Venezuela "is still in force" after the fall of Maduro, says Amnesty International

Vladimir Padrino: the minister for whom the US offers 15 million dollars

On March 18, the president in charge of Venezuela surprises the world with the dismissal of Vladimir Padrino López after more than a decade as Minister of Defense. He was also one of the most influential soldiers in the governments of the late Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.

He is, however, subject to a request for his arrest from the United States Justice Department in a case involving drug trafficking charges. In this context, on January 10, 2025, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a reward of $15 million for information leading to his arrest.

In his place, Rodríguez appointed Gustavo González López, a former director of military counterintelligence and a man known for consolidating his power through containing protests and dissent.

"Vladimir Padrino undoubtedly represents a very important sector within the Armed Forces that has weight within that power structure. It worked very well with President (Hugo) Chávez and then with President Nicolás Maduro. Hence its continuity in both governments is understood," considers Mendoza.

“However, with the entry of Delcy Rodríguez and the kidnapping of President (Nicolás) Maduro and Cilia (Flores) by the United States, it is essential to remove him from the leadership of the Armed Forces for the recomposition that has to be done,” he adds.

Read alsoWhat does the departure of Vladimir Padrino López, Maduro's powerful Defense Minister, mean?

For Las Heras Leizaola, the reasons for his departure can be found in Venezuela's military response to the bombing of Caracas by the United States on January 3. “The Venezuelan Armed Forces were, in some way, quickly neutralized by the United States and there was no capacity to react, when the objective of any person who was trained in the Armed Forces is, precisely, to be able to react adequately to any external aggression,” he highlights.

Less than a month after his departure from Defense, Padrino López is appointed as Minister of Agriculture. A decision that experts understand as a search for balance between the sectors of power in the Caribbean country.

"He is not a figure that can be immediately discarded. So, it is understood that he must play a role, a close role within the government structure, but no longer with the same weight that he had before," emphasizes the political scientist, who maintains that "that is why he begins to command or lead a ministry that is not so important from the strategic point of view. It cannot be immediately discarded, nor can it be handed over to the United States because it plays a key role within the Armed Forces."

Tarek William Saab and a resignation in the middle of the Amnesty Law

Another displacement that resonated strongly in Delcy Rodríguez's Venezuela was that of Attorney General Tarek William Saab. The leader accused, by activists and opponents, of committing Human Rights violations submitted his resignation to the National Assembly and was replaced by specialist lawyer Larry Daniel Devoe on February 25, 2026.

Saab, who held his position for almost nine years, was immediately appointed as interim ombudsman in place of Alfredo Ruiz.

Saab, 63, served for nearly nine years after being appointed in 2017, presiding over the government's response to several major corruption scandals, and carrying out arrests of some well-known opposition figures and protesters who human rights groups said were unjustly detained.

His resignation occurred precisely in the midst of the progress of an Amnesty Law, already approved. In this regard, Saab has always denied that the Government has "political prisoners", but he assured, before his departure from the Prosecutor's Office, that he hoped that this amnesty law would guarantee a "100% pacified" country.

"He has been a fundamental piece within the justice system of the Chavista regime. He has been a person who has had an important role in the repressive policy of the regime," emphasizes the president of the Colombian Venezuelan Citizen Dialogue Association. In her opinion, the president in charge seeks to separate herself from the controversial aspects of this figure, without ceasing to have control over the judicial system.

“He has been a person who has had an important role in the repressive policy of the regime.”

In addition, he points out possible pressures from the United States, which "is currently exercising important tutelage over the decisions made in Venezuela."

Regarding the new attorney general, he warns that, although he had no visibility, “he is a person completely from the regime” who played a “very important” role before international bodies.

Mendoza frames this decision in a new vision of the Government of Delcy Rodríguez: "It seeks a kind of breadth, of rapprochement with other sectors to achieve stability and governability. This necessarily requires purifying the old model. Therefore, the removal of Tarek William Saab was necessary and electing, as was actually done, a new prosecutor's office and a new ombudsman's office, that is, new bodies of Citizen Power."

Read alsoExclusive | Tarek William Saab: “With the Venezuelan case, International Law is dead”

Alex Saab and the dismantling of Nicolás Maduro's financial model

When the first fifteen days of that morning in which the American bombs hit the Venezuelan capital had not yet passed, the new president in charge made one of her first changes to the organizational chart inherited from Nicolás Maduro. On Friday, January 16, the dismissal of the then Minister of Industry, Alex Saab, a businessman accused of being the front man of the president captured by the US on drug trafficking charges, was announced.

Originally from Colombia, Saab had left a United States prison in 2023 based on an agreement that also included the release of 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela.

“As a financial and economic operator, he represented a key role because he was a businessman who had international connections, negotiations with companies, with countries for the export and import mainly of food,” emphasizes Mendoza. At the same time, it reports a clash with the structure closest to Delcy Rodríguez, which may also play a role in the search for mechanisms to lift the blockade and sanctions.

“We had to progressively remove these operators from Nicolás Maduro and Alex Saab played that role,” he says.

Las Heras Leizaola points to pressure from the United States for Rodríguez to “dismiss him for the role he has been playing in trying to evade North American sanctions.”

Read also Who is Alex Saab? The noted figurehead of Nicolás Maduro

Maduro's ex-sister-in-law no longer leads finances

"I have received a communication from the lawyer, Dr. Laura Guerra, and she has presented her resignation to the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV); she will continue with other activities in the field of government," said the interim president on state television.

The event occurred on April 17, at which time it was also announced that Luis Pérez, who until then served as vice president of the entity, will remain at the head of the BCV.

From the perspective of Las Heras Leizaola, this movement is part of the search, previously mentioned, to have more technical profiles in some portfolios linked to the economy.

According to Mendoza, Guerra's family connection must be taken into account because “she is the aunt of Maduro's son.” At the same time, he considers that this decision is part of the recent elimination of sanctions against the Central Bank of Venezuela, something that “requires a strategic change in the direction of this institution and Laura Guerra, by representing the interests of the old government, was no longer functional.

Read alsoThe former sister-in-law of Nicolás Maduro resigns from the presidency of the Central Bank of Venezuela

A new vision of communication

On January 19, Delcy Rodríguez announced changes in three areas of government. Under the argument of strengthening environmental policies, who until then held the position of Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information, Freddy Ñáñez, was moved to the Ecosocialism portfolio. A decision that, in Mendoza's view, is due to the need to implement a change in communication policy.

To illustrate the importance of the displacement, the political scientist and university professor highlights the profile of Ñáñez's replacement. This is the philosopher, writer and communicator Miguel Pérez Pirela.

"In addition, he is a specialist in communication and marketing, much closer to Delcy Rodríguez," he points out, and alludes to his training: "In the time of Hugo Chávez, a few academic figures studied in France, among them, Pérez Pirela and Delcy Rodríguez herself. There are several first and second line officials who come from that group."

Read alsoDelcy Rodríguez remodels the Venezuelan Executive; The NGO Foro Penal certifies 100 releases

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