Venezuela, After Maduro

What It Covers

After Trump's military operation removed Maduro from Venezuela, the regime remains intact under Vice President Delcy Rodriguez. Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, despite winning 70% support, was sidelined for refusing to negotiate with the dictatorship.

Key Questions Answered

• •Trump's Selection Criteria: Trump chose Delcy Rodriguez over popular opposition leader Machado because Rodriguez proved she could manage oil production and protect foreign investments, while Machado's refusal to negotiate with regime officials made her unreliable for maintaining economic stability and resource extraction deals.
• •Machado's Strategic Failure: Machado alienated Trump advisors by refusing to negotiate American prisoner releases, lost elite support by calling the military a narco cartel while simultaneously asking them to defect, and sacrificed domestic credibility by staying silent on Trump's deportation of Venezuelan migrants.
• •Economic Transformation Under Delcy: Starting in 2019, Rodriguez dismantled socialist policies including price controls and currency restrictions, creating an unregulated capitalist system that stabilized inflation and enabled moderate growth from 2021 onward, winning over business elites who now support regime continuity over Machado's promised overhaul.
• •Regime Survival Strategy: The Chavista movement has abandoned nationalism, socialism, and popular support, focusing solely on survival. Delcy must simultaneously denounce the US attack that killed 80 people to satisfy armed forces while opening Venezuela to American investment to avoid Maduro's fate under Trump's explicit threats.