After former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro was extradited to the United States, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez was said to have launched a sweeping purge to consolidate power.
On the 18th (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported that in Maduro's absence, Rodríguez dismantled the governing system that had been maintained for decades since Hugo Chávez took power and began the largest restructuring of authority.
According to the NYT, over the past three months Rodríguez replaced 17 Ministers and installed many of her confidants as top military commanders. In particular, she dismissed hard-liner Vladimir Padrino López, the defense Minister who had led the Ministry of National Defense for 12 years after being appointed under Maduro, and Tarek William Saab, the attorney general who had been a key figure in the oversight bodies.
Rodríguez is also accelerating checks on the Maduro family. Newly rich oligarchs who amassed wealth through collusion with the Maduro family were arrested at their homes, and Maduro's relatives were effectively excluded from oil business rights. Those positions were reportedly taken by Rodríguez's confidants or businesspeople friendly to U.S. capital.
Even Maduro's associates and relatives who have not yet been targeted in the purge are under secret police surveillance and in a precarious situation. Some are said to have left the capital, Caracas, to hide or are considering exile overseas.
However, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a key figure among hard-liners, is still in place. Cabello had clashed with Rodríguez in the past, but after the change of power he shifted his stance and expressed public support. At a government rally, he said, "Let's go with our sister Delcy," declaring his support for Rodríguez.
The backdrop to this purge is interpreted as pressure from the Donald Trump administration. Multiple senior Venezuelan officials described Rodríguez's grip on power as "governing with a gun to the head."
White House Spokesperson Anna Kelly effectively confirmed support for the Rodríguez government, saying, "We are working very closely with President Rodríguez," and adding, "Funds on a scale we haven't seen in years will flow in through oil exports."