Lee este artículo en español
More than two weeks after the stunning U.S. raid on Caracas that led to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, political tensions over Venezuela’s future are rapidly converging around two leaders, both women, who represent different visions of the country. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez supports continuation, and opposition leader Maria Colina Machado calls for the restoration of democracy.
For both leaders, support from, or at least an understanding with, US President Donald Trump is paramount. Mr. Trump could also lift economic sanctions plaguing Venezuela’s economy or, as he did against Mr. Maduro on January 3, remove other government officials facing U.S. charges.
Machado made headlines last week when he visited the White House and presented President Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize medal. However, she was greeted without much fuss and left with a gift bag and photo op, but no tangible assistance.
Machado is a capable politician and a tireless campaigner. The last person who made the mistake of underestimating her is currently incarcerated at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
However, recent events in Washington and Caracas suggest Rodriguez has the advantage in this new matchup. Here are four signs that Rodriguez is on the rise, at least for now.
Any world leader can attest to how important personal and passionate relationships are to the President of the United States. Just ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Delcy Rodriguez was missing one until last week.
On Wednesday, President Trump surprised many Venezuelan officials by speaking by phone with the acting leader of Venezuela and praising her as a “wonderful person.”
Until last week, it appeared that Mr. Machado, who has spent years speaking with US officials and has a strong personal relationship with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, would be chosen as the US partner, at least on a personal level. But Rodriguez can now also boast a direct relationship with Trump.
On January 9, President Trump invited several oil company executives to pitch an investment proposal in Venezuela’s defunct oil industry.
Many people attended the White House meeting, but few participated. Summing up the meeting, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said the “legal and commercial framework currently in place” made Venezuela “uninvestable.”
On Thursday, Rodriguez got to work, announcing changes to the hydrocarbon law that regulates oil extraction in Venezuela.
Mr. Maduro has been considering similar amendments for years, but Mr. Rodriguez broke the deadlock in less than a week, showing he was ready to heed calls from Washington.
On the same day he announced the law changes, Rodriguez welcomed CIA Director John Ratcliffe to Caracas. Photos leaked the next day showed a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, with the usually very elegant Rodriguez even wearing casual Asics sneakers to entertain the immaculately dressed intelligence chief.
Ratcliffe also met with the new head of the presidential guard, Enrique Gonzalez, less than two weeks after U.S. special operations forces killed dozens of Venezuelan and Cuban presidential guards on their way to Maduro’s bedroom, Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said. Mr. Ratcliffe did not comment on these deaths.
It was the first visit by a U.S. minister to Caracas in more than a decade and signaled closer ties between the U.S. spy chief and his Venezuelan counterpart.
On Friday, Venezuela received its first deportation flight from the United States since Dec. 10, with the arrival of an Eastern Airlines Boeing 767 carrying 231 migrants from Phoenix.
When increased U.S. military activity over Venezuela made travel to the country unsafe, Washington suspended deportation flights. The swift resumption of flights shows how important this effort is to President Trump’s overall policy.
As long as Rodriguez guarantees that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can deport as many Venezuelan migrants as it wants to Caracas, she will have many friends in Trump’s circle.
