Posted on 01/05/2026 7:53:24 PM PST by SeekAndFind
In the chaotic aftermath of the Trump administration’s weekend attack on Venezuela and capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, the country is now being helmed by an ambitious new leader: Delcy Rodríguez.
Venezuelans are no stranger to the 56-year-old Rodríguez, who until now was Maduro’s vice president. A hard-line socialist whom the strongman leader once billed as a “tigress,” Rodríguez has made a name for herself as a skilled political operator known for her pragmatism and for loyalty.
Rodríguez developed that reputation over years of navigating Venezuelan politics. Before her ascent to the vice presidency, Rodríguez served in a number of government positions, including communication and information minister and foreign minister. In recent years, she has grown even more influential after gaining oversight of Venezuela’s oil industry and the country’s intelligence service.
With all eyes on Venezuela this weekend, Rodríguez quickly emerged in the spotlight as one of the country’s most powerful actors. She was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, with the backing of the country’s Supreme Court and military.
“This is the same regime; it’s just not headed by Nicolás Maduro,” Christopher Hernandez-Roy, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Americas program, said at an event on Monday. “It’s the same people that run the military who have backed Maduro and now have formally backed Delcy Rodríguez.”
For Rodríguez, who speaks English and French in addition to Spanish, politics run in the family. Her father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, was a socialist leader and leftist guerrilla who started a Marxist political party. He was ultimately arrested over his ties to the 1976 kidnapping of American businessman William Niehous and died while in police custody.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
Here’s something most of you probably didn’t know according to the article:
Perhaps one of Delcy Rodríguez’s closest political allies is her brother, also named Jorge, who was Maduro’s chief political strategist and heads the country’s National Assembly. The two siblings have championed Maduro’s rule, including by helping to preside over his sham reelection in 2024.
Even before Maduro’s ousting, the Rodríguez siblings were in close contact with Washington. Last year, the Miami Herald reported that the duo had been promoting themselves and other senior officials to Washington as a “more acceptable” alternative to Maduro. Qatari mediators helped them present their case.
According to the Financial Times, the siblings were involved in secretive talks with Washington last year about a transitional government in a post-Maduro scenario.
The Trump administration had been “telegraphing that they were building [this transition] around Delcy for some time now,” the Times reported one investor in Venezuela saying. “They don’t see her being a lapdog, but she was always the one who was most constructive in all the negotiations” with the United States.
Marco Rubio would beg to differ:
Marco Rubio says Venezuela’s VP Delcy Rodríguez isn’t a legitimate leader — as he outlines how next president will be chosen
https://nypost.com/2026/01/04/us-news/marco-rubio-says-venezuelan-vp-delcy-rodriguez-isnt-a-legitimate-leader/
Hope the leader has staying power.
Remember Iraq and Afghanistan had one or two day leaders fund shot in a car or dumped in a ravine the end of the week?
Or the terrorist group leaders the subject of headlines such as “Israelis eliminate 2nd and 3rd in command of Hamas within one week.” “Car bomb kills long time Hamas fighter.” No need for a pension plan.
The Shah of Iran was an autocrat. But he was our autocrat.
Will Delcy Rodríguez work out the same way?
And if so, perhaps she’ll end up better than the Shah did.
Next week’s headline?
“What to Know About Venezuela’s Former Leader, Delcy Rodriguez”
/s
It would be a good idea to look back and reflect on the Iraq fiasco for how we go forward.
Trump should have taken her out, too. If she stays in power, the Venezuelans are no better off.
I’m sure she’ll do fine as the next dictator. We will know she’s done when they start running the “venezuela drug boats in the pacific” stories.
AS for Venezuela’s Oil, let’s NOT expect a fast payoff
None of this means Venezuelan oil suddenly floods the market.
At its peak in the 1970s, Venezuela produced more than 3.7 million barrels a day. Today, output is closer to 1 million. The geology is still there, but rebuilding production would take capital, time, and political stability.
Could Venezuela eventually get back to those levels? Yes.
Will it happen quickly? Almost certainly not.
That’s fine, because the world doesn’t need that oil tomorrow. The real demand crunch comes in the early 2030s. By then, if cooperation holds, Venezuelan production could be meaningfully higher.
> It would be a good idea to look back and reflect on the Iraq fiasco for how we go forward. <
Yes. That idiot George W. Bush replaced a strongman (Saddam Hussein) with, well, nobody. Then the whole country fell apart, with different groups shooting at us, and at each other.
Let’s hope Trump and his team have learned from that.
Delcy and her brother Jorge are the leaders of Cartel se los Soles, which runs all the drug trade.
This is a well known fact.
Rodriguez is going to be short term.
In America they are called Demonrats, identified by their Dark Triad personalities and trail of destruction. Socialismo feeds off souls from the left side of the bell curve, and Earth's equator bulges with this type of fool.
Venezuela’s oil is basically Vaseline. Thick gel, just shy of tar.
There’s a lot of it, but it’s expensive and dirty to refine and of limited use.
Compare and contrast to west Texas crude that is almost a mix of natural gasoline and kerosine you can almost just filter, separate, and put into your truck.
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