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Caribbean-Latin America

'Chavistas Remain in Power': Venezuelan Opposition Disillusioned with the US

2026-04-24

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Ol'ga Kuznetsova

[REGNUM] Massive purges are underway in Venezuela, according to media reports: President Delcy Rodriguez, despite ostensibly being an interim leader, is replacing all her ministers, shaking up the secret services, and issuing arrest orders nonstop. Is this true or not?

Not quite. The Bolivarian Republic certainly hasn't been without arrests, removals based on ethnicity, and what only yesterday was called "corruption" and "cronyism" in American high places. But not all of this is the president's fault.

A DIFFICULT START
Spanish-language media began reporting on repression by Venezuela's new leadership immediately after Rodriguez's inauguration.

The first victim was Major General Javier Marcano Tabata, head of counterintelligence and the presidential security service. He was initially dismissed for "lack of adequate security measures during the US military intervention," and the next day he was arrested on suspicion of treason. Evidence was also found: encrypted correspondence with US intelligence agencies in which Tabata explained how to disable air defense protocols. However, this information was not released to the public.

Either way, the decision isn't surprising. If your predecessor and his wife were kidnapped from their bed in the middle of the night, the first thing that comes to mind is to replace the security and bring in your own people. However, the key here is to bring in your own people.

Gustavo González López took Tabata's place as head of the presidential guard and counterintelligence. By March, he had also been promoted to Minister of Defense, replacing Vladimir Padrino López. González once headed the national intelligence service, SEBIN, but was removed by Nicolás Maduro in 2024 during a personnel reshuffle. Then, Delcy Rodríguez appointed him head of strategy at the state-owned oil company, PDVSA. But in Venezuela, he is considered primarily a man of Diosdado Cabello, the head of the Interior Ministry and the republic's "grey cardinal."

Opposition media outlets reported that the first person arrested under the new government was not Tabata at all, but those who dared to celebrate the intervention and capture of Maduro—as well as a couple dozen liberal journalists who came to cover Rodriguez's inauguration.

It's worth noting that in the first days after the US invasion, Venezuelan security forces demonstrated extraordinary zeal and attempted to rehabilitate themselves. And yes, they did seize any suspicious individuals, conduct raids on the "usual suspects," and even mistaken reconnaissance drones belonging to foreign units for enemy ones. But would it have been any different in any other country under a similar scenario?

It is characteristic that discrepancies between the claims of the internal opposition and the criticism of foreign journalists were noticeable from the very beginning.

ROUND DANCE OF MINISTERS
Having assumed the presidency—albeit temporarily—Rodriguez immediately made it clear she was here to stay: she initiated legislative changes to allow American investors and oil companies to enter the country, began holding diplomatic meetings and open negotiations with the White House. And, of course, she began replacing those occupying important positions.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab resigned. His replacement was immediately replaced by Larry Devoy, former executive secretary of the National Human Rights Council. Devoy is considered a close associate of the Rodriguezes—both Delcy herself and her brother, Jorge, the president of the Venezuelan Parliament.

Contrary to rumors, former Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López was not jailed, but appointed Minister of Agriculture. Apparently, he was politely retired, remaining in public administration only nominally.

The heads of the Strategic Operations Command, the ground forces, and the Air Force were also replaced. Some analysts note that the main factor in appointing new people to their positions was the availability of compromising information on them by American agencies, allowing them to manipulate them as they pleased.

For example, the head of the Strategic Operations Command, Rafael Prieto Martínez, previously commanded the Guayana military district in the Orinoco mining region and, according to US intelligence, accepted money from criminal syndicates for the right to mine ore.

The caveat is that nearly all military officials, ministers, and judges who served under Maduro's government (including Delcy Rodriguez herself) were already under US sanctions for a variety of reasons, from drug trafficking and human rights violations to corruption allegations.

The new Minister of Defense, González, served during the time of Hugo Chávez and became famous as one of those responsible for the mass purges in the ranks of the opposition.

The New York Times writes that in just a few months of her tenure, Rodriguez replaced 17 ministers, but fails to mention that some of them did not leave the government apparatus, but merely changed departments.

For example, when writer and intellectual Miguel Pires Pirela became Minister of Information and Communications, his predecessor, Freddy Nánes, was assigned responsibility for environmental protection. Nánes, however, is known for his active propaganda against the United States.

Environment Minister Aníbal Coronado has become Minister of Transport. Meanwhile, Leticia Gómez has simply been removed from the Ministry of Tourism. Given that she is ethnically Cuban, some attribute her dismissal to a demonstration of diminished "Cuban influence" in the new cabinet (previously, it was reported that elite Cuban security forces were being withdrawn from Venezuela under pressure from Washington). Gómez's replacement is no mere chance – she is Daniella Cabello, the daughter of the aforementioned "grey cardinal."

PERSECUTION OF MADURO'S FRIENDS
The man who was called one of the most important people in the country, former Minister of Industry and Trade Alex Saab, also lost his position.

Colombian-born businessman Saab is best known for ensuring the flow of essential goods into the country during the first wave of US sanctions – and then everything else.

Moreover, he was the diplomat who concluded agreements on behalf of Maduro that provided for payment in Venezuelan oil, and was also responsible for the security of the top leadership's finances in foreign banks.

Several years ago, Saab was arrested in Cape Verde, extradited to the United States, but handed over to Venezuela during another period of warming relations. He subsequently became Minister of Industry and Trade.

And now everything has changed. According to the official version, Saab left his post due to a change in the agency's operating format. However, news soon spread online that the businessman had been detained and taken to prison.

The former minister's lawyer later denied the arrest, but news of his imprisonment continues to spread online. This is fueled by the fact that Saab's wife, Camille Fabry, has lost her position as the head of the program repatriating Venezuelan refugees.

The couple's story has sparked speculation about persecution of Maduro's inner circle, as well as the removal of his family members from the management of oil assets. It would seem that this turn of events should have pleased the established opposition figures, but they, too, are dissatisfied.

THE OPPOSITION IS NOT REJOICING
Liberal political activists say they had some hopes for a change in the political climate after the American intervention, but Donald Trump left a "Chavismo supporter" in power, so the situation regarding the protection of freedoms has changed little.

Despite the new Venezuelan government's announcement of an amnesty for political prisoners, a significant number remain in prison—or are quickly returned there. This, for example, is what happened to Juan Pablo Guanipa, one of the main supporters of opposition leader María Corina Machado. He went straight from prison to a rally in support of other prisoners, where he was arrested.

Curiously, there's been no criticism of this coming from Washington. However, the issue has been picked up by María Corina Machado herself, who is currently actively building her political image by visiting foreign leaders and reviving her supporters' party in Venezuela. In her view, Delcy Rodríguez has usurped power, as her 90-day term has expired and new presidential elections are needed.

Rodriguez herself pays little attention to her competitor's attacks and actively conducts business with the Americans, who have already begun lifting sanctions against the Bolivarian Republic.

However, the expiration of his term and the lack of any public explanation is increasing internal tensions, and sporadic protests are already beginning to break out across the country. For now, they are being contained by the security apparatus, but what will happen next is unknown. And given that the standard of living for ordinary citizens hasn't improved at all, a positive outcome is unlikely.

A MAN WHO IS TOLERATED
What's currently happening in Venezuela's state apparatus is a normal political process for a country facing foreign invasion. And given that rumors suggest this was due to elite betrayal, the change of those responsible for key areas, such as the military, is entirely logical.

A review of the candidates who have entered the national public sphere suggests that if purges are taking place, they are not being done entirely in Rodriguez's interests. Rather, Minister Diosdado Cabello had a hand in it.

In the United States, he is described as an influential person who will never give up his personal ambitions and, if he so chooses, has the ability to cause a lot of problems for the new leadership of Venezuela.

For example, he may refuse to provide security and regulate the protests. Perhaps to avoid the hassle of defusing chaos on the ground and preventing the emergence of a "second Haiti," the Americans tolerate Cabello's presence in Venezuela's security apparatus—as well as his desire to serve the interests of his inner circle.

As for arrests and dismissals, there will likely be even more soon—after all, a few days ago, unknown hackers broke into the National Intelligence and Criminal Investigative Corps database. They downloaded all the personal data of officers and called it a "public demonstration of capabilities."

Both the security forces and Rodriguez's cabinet will do everything possible to find those responsible without involving Washington. So the arrests will continue.

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