Trump followed CIA recommendation to hand power to Delcy Rodríguez due to risk that Machado would not control the army

Just 48 hours after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in Caracas by U.S. military forces, Delcy Rodríguez, the woman who until then had served as the number two of the Venezuelan government, was sworn in as president of the country.

Following the lightning military operation to overthrow the Venezuelan president, the United States has left power in the Latin American country in the hands of Rodríguez, based on reports from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), according to reports published by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. U.S. spies advised the White House that it was more advantageous to keep those loyal to the Chavista regime in power because they control the military and police forces. The intelligence report suggests that opposition leader María Corina Machado, who garnered significant popular support during the 2024 elections, would have difficulty controlling the Venezuelan government and military after several decades of Chavista rule.

Machado, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, has supported Trump’s bellicose rhetoric against Maduro and the entire U.S. pressure campaign against the Chavista regime until the removal of the Bolivarian leader.

Donald Trump surprisingly avoided endorsing Machado during the press conference in which he explained the details of the operation: “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader.” He added: “She doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

The CIA report — commissioned to analyze the political situation in Venezuela after the supposed fall of Maduro — did not consider military options to remove the Venezuelan leader but it did advise that the leading officials of the Chavista regime — Rodríguez; Minister of Justice and Interior Diosdado Cabello; and Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino — would be better positioned to lead a temporary government in Caracas and maintain short-term stability if Maduro were overthrown.

Trump decided to keep Rodríguez in power, along with a small group of advisors, after reading the CIA report, according to two sources consulted by U.S. newspapers. The White House is concerned about stability in Venezuela after the military intervention; they don’t want it to become a powder keg of civil war or military uprisings.

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