Delcy Rodriguez Meets CIA Director, Reshuffles Venezuela’s Cabinet

The meeting between Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), John Ratcliffe, confirms the relationship of convenience between Caracas and Washington following the forced removal of Nicolás Maduro from power. It was an unusual, high-level political encounter—the first of its kind since the capture and transfer to the United States of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an operation carried out by U.S. forces just over two weeks ago.

Ratcliffe’s visit, ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed to convey the message that Washington expects an improvement in the working relationship and to address security issues including economic cooperation and the fight against drug trafficking, with the explicit warning that Venezuela “can no longer be a safe haven for the adversaries of the United States.”

Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president and assumed the interim presidency after the departure of the Chavista leader, received Ratcliffe in Caracas in what has been interpreted as a symbolic gesture signaling the reopening of dialogue between the two countries after years of diplomatic rupture. The meeting, which lasted around two hours, took place under the critical gaze of international observers and sectors of the Venezuelan opposition, who view this rapprochement as a subordination of Venezuelan policy to Washington’s dictates.

The subsequent reshuffling of the Venezuelan government, with the departure of several figures close to Maduro—including the controversial Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab—sets the stage for the beginning of a new phase of pragmatic relations between Washington and Caracas.

Delcy Rodriguez meets CIA director, reshuffles Venezuela’s cabinet

The presence of the CIA’s top official in Caracas not only encapsulates a geostrategic shift but also confirms the pragmatic line followed by both sides after the abrupt end of Maduro’s term. Ratcliffe arrived with the explicit mission of strengthening security cooperation and exploring opportunities for economic collaboration, a message that, according to official sources, was conveyed during the meeting.

This new phase appears to be driven by U.S. interest in securing access to Venezuelan oil and reducing the influence of actors considered hostile, while Rodríguez’s government seeks to gain legitimacy and internal stability amid a fragmented political environment.

On the one hand, this dialogue clearly highlights how Washington has decided to work with a figure closely associated with traditional Chavismo like Rodríguez—following recommendations precisely from the CIA, favoring Rodríguez’s more pragmatic profile—rather than promoting opposition leaders such as María Corina Machado, who, despite having received the Nobel Peace Prize, has failed to consolidate U.S. support to lead a real transition in Venezuela.

On the other hand, this situation reinforces the perception that the United States is willing to prioritize stability and the management of its strategic interests over the promotion of democratic processes led by the opposition. Following María Corina Machado’s discreet visit to the White House, her distance from power and her null role in the country’s immediate governmental future were confirmed.

From the meeting in question, it emerged that Rodríguez and Ratcliffe discussed the need for the oil-producing country to stop being “a safe haven for the adversaries of the United States, especially drug traffickers.”

Operation Absolute Resolve. pic.twitter.com/KOtW0C0V1O

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 3, 2026

A reshuffle pointing to new balances

Parallel to this high-level meeting, Venezuela’s interim government has begun a restructuring of its institutional framework, including the removal of controversial Colombian-born businessman Alex Saab from the ministerial cabinet. Saab, who had been appointed in October 2024 as minister of Industry and National Production and was considered a close ally of Maduro, was removed from his post by Rodríguez in a move interpreted as an attempt to distance the new executive from figures strongly tied to the former regime.

The decision to merge the ministry headed by Saab with another portfolio and appoint a new minister responds to both internal and external pressures and comes amid an accelerated reform agenda driven by the interim president to consolidate her leadership and respond to the demands of international allies.

Saab’s departure has been highlighted in international media not only because of his own profile—an entrepreneur previously investigated for alleged activities linked to the Maduro regime and released just over two years ago by the United States—but also as a sign that Rodríguez is seeking to redefine her cabinet in line with a strategy more acceptable to Washington and other global actors.

This adds to other appointments and internal reshuffles aimed at strengthening the interim president’s position against political rivals such as Diosdado Cabello, while simultaneously projecting an image of change and pragmatism to the international community.

Rodríguez bid farewell to Saab with a brief comment on social media. “I thank my colleague Álex Saab for his work in the service of the country; he will now take on new responsibilities. Let’s continue moving forward for the prosperity and well-being of the Venezuelan people!” he said.

Asimismo, agradezco al compañero Álex Saab por su labor al servicio de la Patria; quien asumirá nuevas responsabilidades. ¡Sigamos avanzando por la prosperidad y el bienestar del pueblo venezolano!

— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) January 17, 2026

Venezuela: between real dependence and rhetorical sovereignty

Nevertheless, this relationship of convenience is not free of tensions or contradictions. Sectors of Venezuelan society and international analysts warn that the political game in Caracas has become a chess match in which every move is negotiated with Washington, at the expense of national sovereignty and a genuine democratic agenda.

The U.S. strategy of relying on figures from the former regime while pressing to eliminate power centers deemed problematic raises questions about Venezuela’s true direction: whether it will move toward broader political opening or consolidate itself as a quasi-dependent state of the U.S. administration.

The meeting between Delcy Rodríguez and John Ratcliffe, as well as the removal of figures such as Alex Saab from the Venezuelan government, symbolize a transitional stage in which geopolitical and economic interests are inseparably intertwined with the internal challenges of rebuilding a country marked by years of polarization and crisis.

On this new board, Venezuela’s political stability appears increasingly dependent on external dynamics, while the debate over legitimacy, autonomy, and control of strategic resources will continue to shape the nation’s future.