Allies of former authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro are stunned at interim leader Delcy Rodriguez's grip on power following his capture by U.S. forces and the Trump administration's posterior tutelage of the country, according to a new report.
The New York Times detailed that the recent detention of alleged Maduro frontman Alex Saab illustrates the changing political landscape in Venezuela. Rodriguez has also fired several officials considered to be loyal to Maduro and reduced his family's access to power and government contracts.
Saab is considered to be a financial front man of Maduro. He was reportedly captured in Caracas as part of a joint operation involving Venezuelan authorities and U.S. officials, including the FBI.
Reuters reported that a U.S. official said the Colombian businessman was detained on Wednesday in an operation coordinated between Washington and Caracas and could face extradition to the United States.
However, France 24 correspondent Daniela Zambrano said sources at Venezuela's prosecutor's office indicated that no national authority had formally confirmed the detention. The New York Times said he was questioned overnight and his current status is unknown.
U.S. authorities previously charged Saab with money laundering related to a scheme prosecutors said involved contracts and payments connected to the Maduro government. He was arrested in Cabo Verde in June 2020 during a refueling stop and was extradited to the United States in October 2021. Saab spent roughly two years in U.S. custody before being released and returned to Venezuela in late 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange involving detained Americans.
U.S. officials continue to be happy with the relations with the interim regime even if Rodriguez strikes an increasingly combative tone in public, according to another report.
Semafor noted that Rodriguez maintains weekly communication with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and has met with newly-appointed Laura Dogu this week. The visit marked the reopening of diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas after seven years. Relations had been severed in 2019, when the first Trump administration recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as Venezuela's interim president. Since then, U.S. policy toward Venezuela had been managed from an external office at the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá.
Officials say they will judge the regime based on its actions, not rhetoric, and highlighted the release of some political prisoners, the announcement of an amnesty bill for hundreds more, and the signing of a law overhauling the oil sector. "She's on a short leash and doesn't have much of a choice to comply," a person close to the White House told the outlet.
Elsewhere, a Wall Street Journal report detailed that U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told executives there will be elections in 18 to 24 months. The outlet noted that, however, officials in Venezuela's interim regime are hoping to wait out Trump to stay in power.
Originally published on Latin Times
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
