- Rodriguez is reshuffling his cabinet after a U.S.-backed transition in Venezuela.
- US pressure increases as Venezuela abandons Maduro ally Alex Saab.
- US deportation flight returns Venezuelans after Maduro ouster.
Venezuela’s interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as industry minister.
In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced that the ministry would be merged with a Ministry of Commerce and thanked Saab – a Venezuelan of Colombian origin – “for his service to the homeland; he will take on new responsibilities.”
This change comes under pressure from Washington following the US military raid on January 3 which ousted Maduro.
Saab, released in 2023 in a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to his position in 2024 by Maduro.
He was arrested in Cape Verde in 2020 due to an Interpol notice regarding accusations that he served as a money launderer for the socialist leader.
He was later extradited to the United States, where he and his business partner Alvaro Pulido were accused of running a network exploiting food aid destined for Venezuela.
Saab’s dismissal is among the latest key changes Rodriguez has made to the Venezuelan government since the U.S. capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said her country was beginning a “real transition” to democracy and would become free with the support of the United States and President Donald Trump.
Trump, however, sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former Vice President Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country after Maduro’s takeover.
“We are now definitely in the first stages of a real transition to democracy,” Machado said at an event in Washington, adding that it will have an “immense impact on the lives of all Venezuelans,” as well as those of the region and the world.
“Venezuela is going to be free, and this will be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and President Donald Trump,” Machado said.
His party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election – claims backed by Washington and much of the international community.
But Trump said Machado did not have enough support among Venezuelans and chose to stick with Rodriguez as long as she toed the line of U.S. access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Machado said Friday that Rodriguez was “following orders” rather than acting of his own will.
The opposition leader’s remarks came a day after the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, met with Rodriguez in Caracas.
Ratcliffe visited Venezuela to “convey the message that the United States looks forward to improved working relations,” a U.S. administration official said on condition of anonymity.
Nobel Medal
In a sign of improving relations, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro’s overthrow.
Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants.
Machado, 58, presented his Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump on Thursday in a bid to convince the US president.
“He deserves it,” she said. “And it was a very emotional moment. I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the Venezuelan people.”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump — who said Friday that he and Machado would “talk again” — would keep the award after their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year’s prize, falsely claiming he had stopped eight wars since taking office, but the prize went to Machado.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first phone call Wednesday and the White House said he “liked what he saw” from her.
Rodriguez, however, said his government would stand up to Washington.
“We know they are very powerful… we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,” she said Thursday.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro’s state of the nation address to Parliament while the longtime authoritarian leader is incarcerated in a New York prison on drug trafficking charges.
In contrast, Machado, who campaigned for years to end Maduro’s regime, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.
