Reports in the Miami Herald and The Daily Telegraph in London suggest Vice President Delcy Rodríguez betrayed President Nicolas Maduro to rule Venezuela in an arrangement with the U.S., writes Joe Lauria.
Delcy Rodriguez in Moscow in 2024. (Russian Government/Wikimedia Commons)
By Joe Lauria
Special to Consortium News
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as acting president after the U.S. military abducted President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday morning and whisked him away to a federal detention center in Brooklyn,charged with narcotics trafficking and possession of machine guns.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the U.S. would now “run” Venezuela, but it wasn’t clear what exactly he meant. “We are going to run the country until such time as we can see a proper and judicious transition,” Trump said. “We can’t take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn’t have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.”
Trump then said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had had a lengthy phone conversation with Rodríguez, and that she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
There’s been much speculation that the U.S. bribed senior political and military figures to ensure there was no resistance to the U.S. attack, which involved 150 U.S. aircraft. No anti-aircraft systems were engaged and Trump said the U.S. suffered no casualties or loss of equipment.
After she was sworn in as acting president later Saturday, Rodríguez delivered a fiery speech denouncing the U.S. attack, while insisting that Maduro is still Venezuela’s legitimate leader, even as he sits in the federal jail in Brooklyn.
Rodríguez demanded Maduro’s release. She said the U.S. attack “had one objective: Regime change in Venezuela” to “allow for the capture of our energy resources, our mineral resources, our natural resources.”
Rodríguez said:
“We are ready to defend Venezuela. We are ready to defend our natural resources that must be for national development. … The extremists who have promoted armed agression against our country, history and justice will make them pay. … We will never again be slaves.”
Just Theater?
Were Rodriguez’s remarks to the nation sincere or is she in on a deal, as Trump suggested? Or both? In other words, she might have meant what she said but will still do what the U.S. wants. Or were her defiant words just theater?
Could she even rule Venezuela without making such remarks? Is she using them as cover from the Venezuelan people to implement the U.S. agenda in her country? Is the Trump administration nervous that she did mean what she said and can’t be counted on?
The Miami Herald has suggested that Rodríguez has indeed made a deal with the U.S. which allows her to rule the country, at least in the interim, while the U.S. achieves its aims.
The Herald wrote:
” … following the removal of Nicolás Maduro and a series of extraordinary U.S. military and legal moves, Washington now appears open to a scenario that would have once been politically unthinkable: working with remnants of the Maduro regime — particularly his vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, and her brother, Jorge Rodríguez — to stabilize, administer and reorient Venezuela … it is … an experiment that could succeed because it has the potential to satisfy the core interests of both sides — and, under certain conditions, may be one of the few scenarios capable of governing Venezuela without triggering large-scale violence, institutional collapse or mass migration.”
The alleged deal is that the current government stays in power while the U.S. gets Venezuela to reorient away from China, Russia, Iran, Cuba and BRICS, and presumably allows U.S. oil companies back in. Both sides get to avoid war and social upheaval.
“Within Venezuela, not all Chavista figures are equally positioned to engage in such a bargain.” writes the Herald. “Analysts point repeatedly to the Rodríguez siblings—Delcy Rodríguez, vice president and de facto power broker after Maduro’s removal, and her brother Jorge Rodríguez, a longtime political operator and negotiator—as uniquely capable links in the chain.”
The so-called “Rodriguez network retains influence over key elements of the security apparatus, intelligence services and judicial system. That control is essential not only to enforce any agreement with Washington, but also to reassure regime insiders that cooperation with the U.S. will not lead to prosecution, purges or seizures of their properties,” the Herald writes.
Further, this camp views alliances with Russia and China as a consequence of U.S. sanctions, not an ideological commitment, and they are flexible enough to ally with the U.S. if the sanctions are lifted.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez meeting with top aides in Caracas on Sunday.
(Vicepresidencia de Venezuela/Wikimedia Commons)
In addition, the absence of the Rodriguez siblings from the U.S. indictments “fueled speculation — unconfirmed but widely discussed — that back-channel talks are already under way,” said the newspaper. The U.S. can pull off such a deal because U.S. military action showed Venezuela it could not resist and because the cost of sanctions continue, said the paper. It added that purges in the Venezuelan government can soon be expected to make the deal work.
In return for leaving elements of the government in power, the U.S. is demanding “ending oil shipments to Cuba, halting cocaine trafficking routes, curbing Iranian and Russian access, and opening Venezuela’s energy sector to U.S. companies,” said the paper. All are achievable without “dismantling the regime’s internal power structure. In fact, they would likely enrich those who control the transition,” it said.
How the Venezuelan people react when it becomes obvious what is happening is the most unpredictable factor. Whether privatization of the oil industry erodes living conditions even with the lifting of U.S. sanctions could be key. The indignity of the people when they find out the nation has been subjugated to the U.S. could also be crucial.
“The most delicate challenge for any U.S.–Chavista alliance would be political legitimacy inside Venezuela,” the Herald said. “Chavismo cannot openly present itself as an American proxy without fracturing its base. Instead, analysts believe the leadership would reframe cooperation as a pragmatic partnership undertaken to prevent chaos, avoid foreign occupation and protect national sovereignty under new conditions.”
Yesterday, Rodriguez changed her tune. “We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence,” she said. “President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”
It does not appear to be a done deal however. Perhaps worried that Rodríguez won’t hold up her end of the bargain, Trump on Sunday issued an explicit and thuggish threat to her. He told The Atlantic magazine: “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”
UAE Mediation
The Daily Telegraph in London reports in an article titled, “Secret meetings point to inside job to take down Maduro,” that the UAE mediated between the U.S. and Rodriguez, a 56-year old oil industry lawyer and current Minister of Petroleum, which could help U.S. oil companies back into the country. The Telegraph writes:
“In a meeting room in Doha, some 7,500 miles from Caracas, officials were busy discussing the future of Venezuela without Nicolás Maduro, its dictator. A senior member of the UAE royal family was acting as a bridge between the regime and Donald Trump, while the US president was building an armada to pressure the Venezuelan leader to surrender. But Mr Maduro had no part in the secret meetings in Doha. Instead, it was his vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, and her brother Jorge who were leading the talks.”
The Telegraph quotes Francisco Santos Calderón, Colombia’s former vice-president, as saying: “I’m absolutely certain Delcy Rodríguez handed [Maduro] over. All the information we have, you start to put it together and say: ‘Oh, this was an operation in which they handed him over.’”
Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former U.N. correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and other newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette, the London Daily Mail and The Star of Johannesburg. He was an investigative reporter for the Sunday Times of London, a financial reporter for Bloomberg News and began his professional work as a 19-year old stringer for The New York Times. He is the author of two books, A Political Odyssey, with Sen. Mike Gravel, foreword by Daniel Ellsberg; and How I Lost By Hillary Clinton, foreword by Julian Assange.
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Brazilian BRICS journalist Pepe Escobar seems to think this is from an unreliable single source without evidence from Venezuela; empire propaganda being amplified in the mainstream media and X. Listened to him earlier with Danny Haiphong, and though both praised CN expressed surprise at even CN republishing this story.
Not entirely decided myself, but I found Pepe’s article and interview on events regarding Venezuela valuable, and so for those interested in an alternative perspective:
hxxps://strategic-culture.su/news/2026/01/05/barbaria-strikes-again/
hxxps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diAXk_jN6NE#t=50m55s
Very interesting thoughts from him on how he says this will all play out in the global south, and particularly interesting what his sources suggest. They paint this attack in a very different light from elsewhere I’ve seen—he also says military was not paid off and only security, among other claims very important if accurate.
Thanks CN for your continued work and providing multiple views to broaden our horizon in this fog of war. I rather read Joe Lauria’s analysis/commentary on these articles and give CN my clicks, than give any views to the formerly mainstream media.
How seriously Rodriguez acts to get Maduro out of US prison and back home should tell us a lot.
It should be obvious by now the US can NEVER be trusted. The Vice President may be trying to walk a fine line here, but she will be discarded as soon as she is no longer useful.
I sincerely doubt the peasants of Venezuela will accept this outrage without putting up a fight. They have suffered and fought too hard for too long to undo the damage caused to their country by the gringo to the north. Perhaps this will be where the US empire finally collapses. Despite the hardship that will cause to me and mine personally, I won’t shed a tear.
Was an insider involved? Yes.
Was it Rodríguez? Who knows.
Saying she collaborated with US makes sense as this will give US’ accusations of Maduro alleged crimes more credibility.
The whole world knows what US did was illegal, as US did so many times before around the world. Therefore credibility is what the US now needs.
Especially since Trump has in mind to overthrow Colombia, Cuba and Mexico’s leaders as well.
Did Delcy hand over Maduro ? Somebody did. And it’s highly likely that Delcy was the leader of the group.
“Did Venezuela VP hand over Maduro in deal with US?” Answer: No. Does the US war machine and their media agents promote disinformation to create confusion and maximize tension. Answer: Yes. Time after time. Ten days ago they were talking about Maduro fleeing to Russia. As for Rodriguez “changing her tune” by offering collaboration and cooperation with the US, this is not accurate. Cooperation (not subservience) with the US has been the goal of the PSUV for decades. The betrayal theory is very dubious.
It is impossible to say with confidence either way, as the commenter attempts to say with a definitive “no.” She used the word “collaborate.” This means more than just “cooperation” as the commenter says.
I’m skeptical right now of the Rodriguez traitor angle. At this point I’m willing to let more info come in over the next mo or so that should help clarify where she sat with all this. She and her family have always been very committed Bolivarian revolutionaries.
I say this taking nothing away from Lauria’s excellent article.
It’s a tough issue. It seems like most of what we are hearing is speculation, uncorroborated stories, or Trump talk (in other words, since Trump has repeatedly lied outright about what foreign leaders have said during phone conversations, he should be taken as lying until proven otherwise).
But it doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility Rodríguez is taking actions to defuse the emergency situation Venezuela finds itself in. In my personal sense of justice, the whole affair outrages me and I wish Rodríguez would stand up to the fascists and their gangster viciousness. None of this will stop until the mob bosses are literally given a bloody nose or worse.
But I have to admit capitulating, or at least capitulating to a certain degree, will probably help alleviate the pain the naval blockade is causing. As much as I wish to see resistance, it is guaranteed to cause harm to ordinary Venezuelans over a long term. As their leader that must have a pretty big impact over the decisions you make.
In other words, perhaps partial capitulation isn’t necessarily a corrupt deal at all. But on the other hand, perhaps Rodríguez has learned from Russia that agreeing to talk with Trump doesn’t cost much overall, and much can be gained from agreement and delay.
What could go wrong tiny hands and little narco grubio .
How much between them can each one grab .
No worries just a handfull ?
One hand carries water and one is too bruised to clam .
Yes , but one could wash the other with the other hand .
Thank You Joe
Just as a nobody, a product of the Iowa Public School System of the 1950s, 60s, and 70s(college) what do I know save a remembrance of being told around 6th Grade in GRADE SCHOOL of a GROUP called the “Organization of American States” (OAS) as well as “The United Nations” (UN).
Well I did a “CTRL-F” of the story for “OAS” and for “Organization” and in neither did I see any reference to the OAS which according to its Charter should have fully condemned the Unites States military attack on Venezuela as being opposed by the OAS Charter along with the United Nations.
Well President Donald Trump, having been given the Power of GOD by John Roberts CRIMINAL COURT has personally violated the Constitution of the United States, Article 1 Section 8 that only a majority vote in EACH HOUSE OF CONGRESS may declare War (and one could go to Madison’s Notes on the Federal Constitution – found at Yale Law School’s Avalon Project – August 17, 1787 you will find Mr. Gerry, a member of the Group that wrote the Constitution of the United States of America being outraged that anyone in a REPUBLIC would suggest that the EXECUTIVE ALONE could DECLARE WAR, and the discussion that followed GAVE the Power to Declare War SOLELY To a Majority Vote in Each House of Congress, allowing the President the ability to respond to attacks against the United States.
Well, December 8, 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt went to Congress to have Congress declare War against Japan for its attack on Pearl Harbor as without that FDR could not have waged War against Japan, only acted to repeal attacks against the United States.
The December 8, 1941 Declaration of War was against Japan alone.
Later, Adolph Hitler in his Lunacy, instead of attempting to get the Japanese to stop their attacks on the United States, Hitler declared War against the United States leading to the Congress declaring war against Germany – just think how World War II in Europe would have been changed if Hitler attempted to bring Peace between Japan and the United States rather than Declare War on the United States.
But the Trump Administration has 1) violated the Constitution in not abiding by Article 1, Section 8, 2) violated the Constitution by not abiding by the United Nations Treaty which the United States Senate approved decades ago and is still in effect, AND 3) not abiding by the Organization of American States Treaty which the United States Senate approved decades ago and is still in effect.
There is not Trump Administration in Washington, DC; it is the “Trump CRIME FAMILY.”
Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution is a quaint relic of bygone years. When was the last time that Congress passed a resolution declaring war? It was for World War II. Since the Korean War, no American war has been declared by Congress.
Korean War was declared (approved) by Congress ? I don’t think so.
Kabuki theater, perhaps, in order to keep the population docile. We’ll see how it works. Alexander Mercouris pointed out that all neocon plans, and this certainly is one, start out the same way with much fanfare and exultation. Many arms are badly sprained patting themselves on the back. And then, it invariably goes to shit. This, I would say, is simply a function of the infantile neocon ideology itself. Another iteration of “garbage in – garbage out.”
Putting neocons in charge is always a disaster for any country or entity that tries it. This has been the consistent outcome for the US and is now playing out with the same miserable results in the EU and Collective West at large. Unfortunately, it is real people that always bear the brunt of suffering while the neocons slink away until the next opportunity. What about the fools who let them..?
“SOLD!” By Mr. Fish @ hxxps://consortiumnews.com/2025/12/29/chris-hedges-decline-and-fall/
Absophknlutely, the most likely “Sleeping w/the Enemy:” 1) *Maria Corina Machado, who dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to “the suffering people of Venezuela;” &, DJ “the Big $hot” Trump, “for his “decisive support” in her country’s fight for democracy”… Since Trump’s re-election, Machado has been an outspoken supporter of” [Trump] “describing him as a “visionary” and the “biggest opportunity we’ve ever had” for regime change in Venezuela.” [Maria Corina Machado] “has previously claimed to be in close contact with Trump’s “Caddy” aka Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
2) Nicolás Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, and her brother Jorge; &, 3) IMO, Trump’s Director of National $ecurity…No doubt, “they’d do it for the f/“PRIZE” Monies: 1) 8.8.25, Trump-Vance, Inc., “doubled its reward for the arrest of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro from $25 million (€21.4 million) to $50 million (€42.9 million), accusing him of being one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers and working with cartels to flood the US with fentanyl-laced cocaine.” 2) Nobel’s Peace “Prize” money for 2025 is set at Swedish kronor (SEK) 11.0 million per full Nobel Prize.”
….. “What would you do with the prize money if you were awarded a Nobel Prize?”
“A bitter wind blows through the country. A hard rain falls on the sea. If terror comes without a warning. There must be something we don’t see. What fire begets this fire? Like torches thrown into the straw. If no one asks, then no one answers. That’s how every empire falls.” John Prine, an American singer-songwriter (1946-2020), R.I.P.
@ hxxps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l8GgdL2xBYY&list=RDl8GgdL2xBYY&start_radio=1&pp=ygUoSm9obiBwcmluZSB0aGF0J3MgaG93IGV2ZXJ5IGVtcGlyZSBmYWxsc6AHAQ%3D%3D
* hxxps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-nobel-peace-prize-maria-machado-b2843631.html
* hxxps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/about/the-nobel-prize-money/
Could as easily being the US seeding a civil war here, to split and delegitimize the government. This story would have enormous propaganda benefit in fracturing Venezuela and the Chavista movement.
But then it sure looks like someone gave the US the keys to the kingdom and prevented any self-defense, even as US troops killed dozens of people.
Rodriguez will have to prove she is not a traitor with something other than words.
She’s not saying anything that hasn’t been offered to the US since the Bush admin. It’s in VZ’s constitution.
I’m guessing that if Rodriguez had made a deal with the US & that she was sticking to it, then there wouldn’t be articles in the Miami Herald and The Daily Telegraph saying that that was what she had done.
If the papers are stitching her up, I’m guessing she’s not on board with the Empire,,, but who knows?!?
I’d like to think that the Venezuelans had been thinking/planning a few steps ahead & perhaps this is all part of some cunning plan,,, but then I do like to indulge in moments of fantastical optimism from time to time.
What I can never wrap my head around, in a much more general manner, is how the majority world keeps letting themselves get shafted by the Empire so easily & so frequently.
The Empire, the Anglo-Zionist blah’dy blah, the 5 Eyes, NATO, Brits, & every nations’ global elitists, none of them are particularly unpredictable and none of them are particularly clever.
& It’s usually pretty obvious when they’re eyeing up your country.
They’ll stab anyone in the back & renege on any & every promise/treaty they make; their whole empire is built on rape, pillage & murder; it’s always business, if there ain’t no money to be made you won’t find them sniffing around; the lunatics are quite capable of dropping nukes & biologicals; they’ll spend years softening up their targets with economic sieges, no fly zones and military attrition; they’re Machiavellian as fk – throwing cash, promises & blackmail around willy nilly in order to buy turn coats, snitches, traitors & willing puppets, & they drown their own people in propaganda 24/7… Divide & Conquer, with a few frills.
It’s such an old story & I just would have thought that it might be easy enough to think your way around all that by now, especially if you were likely to be on the receiving end of some “democracy & humantarian assistance” any time soon… with a bit of unity, the majority world ought to be unconquerable… unless, actually, everybody just wants to be the next evil empire and it’s all just one big game of who can be the next biggest bastard.
+1!
Juan Guaido was a rousing success compared to this latest attempt at grand larceny.
Wasn’t her dad Tortured to Death by USA decades ago? I doubt she folds that easy.
Exactly. As I said above, she’s not saying anything new about offering cooperation. Why would she risk permanently painting herself as distrustful to all parties involved at such a sensitive time? She’s much smarter and more dedicated than that.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Yes, her dad was tortured and murdered by the CIA, so unless she hated him, she would not be willingly allowing herself to become as US puppet.
It has to be very tricky, trying to walk the knife’s edge of Venezuela in an ongoing effort to maintain the nation’s sovereignty in the face of Trump’s power grab. No one who is able (U.S. Congress) has shown a willingness to bell the cat, so Rodriguez is playing an unenviable game of cat and mouse in the meantime. Hard times, all around.
If she is, things will be dramtatically worse for her than Alexis Tspipras and Syriza were in Greece, who got off easy for being collaborators. Civil War would be a high possibility.
Everything is possible in this world full of betrayal. Many are eager to sell out for position, money and power.
The good thing is: those who allowed themselves to be used will be dumped by the Empire sooner than later. The world will see how it goes when history repeats itself!
Kudos to you for kicking off a wonderful stream of pertinent comments on the contents of this excellent write up by Joe Lauria. What an axiomatic truth you presented so succinctly : with each passing day the world is indeed going “full of betrayals”. Nevertheless, it is difficult to believe that a committed Delcy and her oily sibling would fall for an oily inducement in this case. Delcy sure is in a dicey situation here. While history has a way of repeating itself often, still one can’t say this too is a similar or lesser still an identical replay simply because it is being conceptually framed as a Trumpian alleged Corollary !