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Delcy Rodriguez's first 7 days as Venezuelan president: The pact, internal strife and Trump's demands

2026-01-11 18:45:57Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Delcy Rodriguez's first 7 days as Venezuelan president: The pact, internal
Delcy Rodriguez sworn in as president

The former revolutionary under American tutelage must meet Trump's demands, avoiding an internal coup and managing China and Russia.

Sara Gandolfi - Corriere della Sera

COLOMBIA - Seven days of uncertainty, threats, negotiations and backstage. Seven days, above all, of fragile waiting and duplicity. Will the lawyer Delcy Rodríguez, powerful but unpopular and far from charismatic, the new leader of Caracas, be able to advance the "new political moment", as she has called it, and withstand Trump's three-phase plan for the "reorganization" of Venezuela, without toppling the regime?

It was not certain that after the immediate attack, the US president would rely on Rodriguez, the regime's number two, 56 years old, educated in France and Britain, former Minister of Communications, Economy, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Hydrocarbons, always overshadowed by Nicolás Maduro when he was in power. A CIA report, warning of the risks of instability if the opposition leader, María Corina Machado, were to take power, made US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined to choose who should govern Venezuela after Maduro's capture. Delcy, for her part, was a well-known name in Washington and among Trump's advisers. In 2017, to smooth relations with the US, she had donated $500,000 to Trump's first presidential inauguration through Citgo Petroleum, then a US subsidiary of PDVSA.

oath

Just 48 hours after the US invasion on January 3 and the capture of Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president on the first day of work of the new General Assembly, chaired by her brother Jorge. This is a practically monochrome Parliament, elected in May 2025 with a small number of opposition members. “I speak with pain about the suffering caused to the Venezuelan people, following an illegal military aggression against our homeland. I speak with pain about the kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage in the United States of America,” said the new leader. But then she added that she was honored to be president. “I come with pain, but I must say that I also come with honor for this solemn oath.”

Now begins the era of the Rodríguez sister and brother, the power couple who for years managed large sectors of the economy (and the corresponding finances) of the country. According to inside information, the sister, a lawyer, is the stronger and more decisive of the two. This is the woman who dared to point the finger at American and European diplomats to defend the 2014 crackdown on “terrorists,” who were in fact mainly young people protesting against the regime and dozens were killed or arrested. The former minister entered international meetings where she was not invited.

"Her combative tactics helped her a lot as she climbed the hierarchy of a government dominated by men." Military or former military personnel, mainly, such as Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino or Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the two guardians of the Revolution who respectively lead the armed forces and the famous 'Colectivos' on January 5, supported the new president. And so, Maduro's son declared in the session that the homeland is in safe hands.

Night of mysteries

The peace was short-lived. Rodriguez’s hold on power remains fragile. Within hours of her election as president, the Trump administration intervened through intermediaries to warn that “if she doesn’t cooperate, she will end up like Maduro.” A similar threat was made to Delcy from the start.

Honeymoon

Since then, the honeymoon between Washington and Caracas has begun. As early as Sunday evening, Rodríguez invited Trump to “work together on a cooperation program, oriented towards common development.” On January 7, a statement from Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, confirmed the start of negotiations with the United States on oil supplies, “a strictly commercial transaction, in compliance with the principles of legality, transparency and mutual benefit.”

On January 9, Rodríguez hosted State Department officials to discuss reopening the U.S. embassy in Caracas. It won’t be an easy road. The most complex challenge for Rodríguez will be managing Venezuela’s deep ties to China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba while also working with Trump.

"First gentleman"

The former revolutionary turned technocrat, who has survived the endless intrigues and underground 'wars' of other regime hierarchs, has already shown evidence of political balance. Now she must meet Washington's demands, avoiding an internal coup. Thus, during yesterday's visit to a community in Sucre, she reaffirmed her loyalty to Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores ("We will not stop for a minute until we have them back in the homeland"), but a few hours later confirmed negotiations with the US authorities to reopen the respective embassies.

Squeezed between the will of Trump, who wants to govern Venezuela "for years to come," and the countless centrifugal forces in the palaces of Caracas, it must stabilize institutions and keep a faltering economy alive. This is happening, in anticipation of the "miracle" promised by the White House.

Delcy, on the other hand, knows how to manage money and favors. She has attracted foreign investors and Venezuelan entrepreneurs. She has curbed hyperinflation and restarted economic growth. And things are not going badly in the family either. Her partner of Lebanese origin, Yussef Abou Nassif Smaili, is one of Venezuela's richest businessmen. The 36-year-old, according to the Mexican newspaper Reporte Índigo, has amassed a fortune of 500 million euros under the shadow of the regime. Perhaps even Trump's people will appreciate this.


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