Under pressure from the United States, Ms. Rodriguez seems to have waited until firmly in control of the military apparatus before pushing General Padrino out, who also suffered the humiliation of the army’s failure to protect the head of state.
“We thank General Vladimir Padrino Lopez for his dedication, loyalty to the homeland, and for being, all these years, the first soldier in defense of our country. We are confident that he will assume with the same commitment and honor the new responsibilities that will be entrusted to him,” Mrs. Rodriguez wrote on Telegram.
Is it a coincidence? This announcement comes in the midst of national excitement sparked by Venezuela’s victory in the World Baseball Classic, the equivalent of the World Cup in football, which is more popular than soccer in this Caribbean country.
Since assuming the functions of president ad interim, Ms. Rodriguez has sidelined many of Nicolas Maduro’s close associates from power circles.
Still under Washington’s pressure, she also had the oil law revised, opening this sector to foreign private investors, enacted an amnesty law allowing the release of political prisoners, or promised a judicial reform. Venezuela also restored diplomatic relations with the United States (broken in 2019) less than three months after the attack on Mr. Maduro.
Minister of Defense since 2014, Mr. Padrino, 62, was considered a close ally of Nicolas Maduro within the military’s high hierarchy.
The army, a pillar of chavism (the doctrine of former president Hugo Chavez succeeded by Mr. Maduro), had expressed absolute support and loyalty to Vladimir Padrino, its commander since 2024.
To replace him, Delcy Rodriguez appointed Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez, the head of the presidential guard and the feared counter-espionage department since the capture of Nicolas Maduro. He had previously led the intelligence services (Sebin), also highly feared and active in political repression.
Ms. Rodriguez also announced the replacement of the holders of the Portfolios of Housing, Electricity, Transport, and Labor.
“It was the greatest honor of my life: serving the Homeland as a soldier and protecting peace and national unity all these years at the head of the Ministry of Popular Power for Defense,” General Padrino wrote a few minutes after his dismissal. “I am certain that the army will emerge stronger. We will prevail!”
To keep them in line, Nicolas Maduro had given the military control of private enterprises, as well as customs and significant ministries, prompting numerous accusations of abuse and corruption.
