The future of Venezuela appears to be changing rapidly. Following the confirmation of an attack by the United States which, according to Donald Trump, has translated into the capture of Nicolás Maduro, a range of possibilities opens, and also risks. The first question will be who occupies the presidential chair, whether there will be a transition or if a continuist administration will remain in power; for now the eyes are on Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the next in the line of succession in case the president cannot fulfill his duties.
VICE PRESIDENT DELCY RODRÍGUEZ
But there are many doubts in the air. The first is that Rodríguez is in Moscow amid ongoing economic negotiations with the government of Vladimir Putin, the second is that she is an uncomfortable figure for the United States government, which will want to captain the transition, and also because she is a highly unpopular figure inside Venezuela, making it difficult for her to assume the post without increasing instability in the midst of a regime change.
Her career is built on a narrative of loyalty and family redemption. Daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, founder of the Socialist League who was killed in police custody in 1976, Delcy has transformed that founding trauma into a political engine. For her and her brother, wielding power is not just a career, but a mission of historical vindication against the ‘IV Republic’.
She was also the key figure who steered the chavismo’s small economic opening. During her tenure as Foreign Minister (2014-2017) she became known for a confrontational style and fierce anti-imperialist rhetoric at the OAS; her tenure as Vice President and Minister of Economy has revealed a different facet: the pragmatism of survival. She is seen as a middle ground that could open the economy within chavismo, but she has detractors inside the movement.
FEAR OF DIOSDADO CABELLO
The great concern inside the country is what will happen with Diosdado Cabello, who has made statements recalling that the country is calm and that they continue to maintain control. After Chávez’s death, and before he named Maduro, Cabello was expected to be the heir to the government.
If Delcy Rodríguez represents the technical management and the economic bridge, Diosdado Cabello Rondón (El Furrial, 1963) represents the force, the party’s cohesion, and the control of the state’s security. Considered for years the ‘number two’ of chavismo, Cabello has begun 2026 consolidated in a position of absolute power over the country’s repressive and organizational apparatus.
WHAT ABOUT MARÍA CORINA MACHADO AND EDMUNDO GONZALES?
The other deafening silence is that of Maria Corina Machado and the president-elect, according to the records with which the opposition demonstrated the fraud in 2024: Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia. After spending almost a year in clandestinity inside Venezuela, Machado left the country secretly in December 2025. Her departure was motivated, among other factors, by her designation as the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an award that seeks to raise visibility of the democratic struggle in the country. Although climate problems delayed her initial arrival at the Oslo ceremony, she is currently abroad leading the international advocacy.
For his part, Gonzales Urrutia has been living in exile in Spain since September 2024, after reporting political persecution following the presidential elections. From there, he acts as the “president-elect” recognized by various international sectors, maintaining a schedule of meetings with world leaders (including tours of Latin America and meetings in Europe).
THE ROLE OF THE UNITED STATES BEYOND THE CAPTURE
For now, Venezuelans await the reaction of Donald Trump. The American President has announced that he will hold a press conference near 5:00 p.m. In it, he is expected to comment on the details of Maduro’s capture, and whether there are plans for the future of the Caribbean country. It is a deeply delicate situation, and with it the magnate makes a bold move that signals to figures such as Rodríguez, Cabello and the Defense Minister, Padrino López, the capacity of an internal attack in Venezuela against power figures.
