The fall of Nicolás Maduro has not brought unity to Venezuela’s ruling movement but instead exposed sharp internal fractures, as rival Chavista factions compete for power in the country’s uncertain transition. According to reporting by El Pais, the inauguration of Delcy Rodríguez as interim president and her brother Jorge Rodríguez as head of the National Assembly marked a historic concentration of authority within one family, while simultaneously highlighting the resistance of the movement’s hardline, militarized wing.
The symbolism was unmistakable during Monday’s ceremony. As Delcy Rodríguez assumed the presidency and her brother took control of the legislature, Diosdado Cabello, the most prominent figure of the military-aligned faction, appeared visibly grim. Cameras captured his stern expression as he listened to speeches that felt less like a celebration of renewal and more like a somber rite. Shortly beforehand, an official photograph of the new cabinet showed Rodríguez flanked by the pillars of Chavista power: Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López on one side and Cabello on the other, wearing a cap emblazoned with the warning, “Doubting is betrayal.”
Classic Chavista imagery framed the moment, with portraits of Simón Bolívar and Hugo Chávez joined by a new visual cue: an image of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, holding hands. That evening, Cabello reinforced his message not with words but with force, leading an armed procession through the streets alongside uniformed men carrying rifles and pledging to defend the homeland. The display underscored a blunt reality: while technocrats and negotiators were assuming formal power, control of the guns remained firmly in Cabello’s hands.
In a recorded address, Cabello dismissed any notion of cooperation with Washington, branding negotiations with the United States as “treason” and vowing that revolutionary forces and armed civilian collectives would stay in the streets to resist what he called an imperial invasion. Within hours, the divide between the two dominant Chavista families—the Rodríguez siblings on one side, and Cabello allied with Padrino López on the other—had become so apparent that when gunfire erupted near the presidential palace overnight, rumors quickly spread that it signaled an attempted internal coup rather than another US strike.
These tensions are rooted in a long-running rivalry. Just as Hugo Chávez once chose Maduro over Cabello as his successor, the United States has now clearly backed Delcy Rodríguez to lead what El Pais describes as an uneasy and closely monitored transition. Pragmatists willing to strike deals with Washington now face off against militarists who view compromise as surrender, even if for now the conflict is expressed through gestures, imagery, and calculated displays of power rather than open confrontation.
On the streets of Caracas, the struggle has immediate consequences. Following Maduro’s capture, armed paramilitary groups known as “motorizados” have fanned out across working-class neighborhoods such as Petare and Catia. Masked and heavily armed, they have imposed informal checkpoints, enforced curfews, and restricted movement, effectively stifling any public celebration among Venezuelans who voted overwhelmingly against Maduro in 2024. These groups operate under Cabello’s authority, bolstered by an emergency decree ordering the immediate arrest of anyone accused of supporting the US-led attack, a measure that has alarmed human rights organizations and directly contradicts Rodríguez’s pledge to work jointly with Washington.
The rift extends beyond Venezuela’s borders. While official Bolivarian diplomacy fell silent after news broke that Maduro had been transferred to a US military vessel en route to New York, Cabello’s sister, Glenna del Valle Cabello, Venezuela’s consul in Bilbao, took to the streets in protest. She denounced Donald Trump in incendiary terms and rejected any foreign interference, declaring that Venezuela belongs solely to Venezuelans.
Ultimately, the balance of power tilted toward the Rodríguez family during Delcy Rodríguez’s swearing-in at the National Assembly. Cabello’s ambition to reclaim a central institutional role was blocked, as Washington would have viewed his return to the legislative helm as a direct provocation. His status as interior minister, coupled with a US bounty of $25 million and alleged ties to the Cartel of the Suns, made his elevation unacceptable to American overseers. Reinforcing the Rodríguez siblings’ position is the prominent role granted by Trump to Stephen Miller, the White House’s deputy chief of staff, in supervising Venezuela’s post-Maduro transition.
Miller has publicly praised the interim government, stating that the White House is receiving “full, complete, and total cooperation” from Caracas. Cabello responded with personal attacks, labeling Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “21st-century pirates” bent on looting Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth. He has warned that US naval control of Venezuela’s coastline constitutes an act of war and urged the armed forces not to yield, even in Maduro’s absence.
Amid this volatile backdrop, Trump announced that Rodríguez had begun shutting down a detention center used to torture political prisoners in central Caracas, a move framed as part of her cooperation with Washington. The announcement conspicuously avoided direct mention of the Helicoide, the notorious prison under Cabello’s influence, further fueling mistrust within Chavista ranks.
Adding to the atmosphere of suspicion were the words of Nicolás Maduro’s son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who publicly accused unnamed figures of betrayal after his father’s capture. Through tears, he warned that history would eventually reveal who had turned against the former president. As El Pais makes clear, the new Venezuela is being shaped not only by foreign pressure but by an internal power struggle that threatens to define the country’s future as much as any deal struck with Washington.
