Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez carried out “purges” in the upper ranks of government after the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro. The New York Times reported this, citing sources.
The detentions are taking place without public explanation, but often with the approval of the White House, and in some cases at its direct insistence. Rodriguez likely does not make all decisions on her own. Several NYT sources compared her position to having a “gun to her head”: the United States has repeatedly threatened Caracas with a new invasion if the authorities refuse to cooperate.
In the three months since Maduro’s ouster, she has dismissed 17 ministers, replaced military commanders, and appointed new diplomats. Rodriguez also oversaw the detention of at least three businessmen linked to Maduro, dismissed several of his relatives, and stripped most of his family of access to oil contracts, while banning them from appearing in the media.
She installed people loyal to her in their place or backed businessmen connected to her. In addition, she opened Venezuela’s oil and mining sectors to American investors.
The newspaper notes that the largest redistribution of power in Venezuela in recent decades has not brought greater transparency or pluralism to the country’s government, which remains authoritarian. Venezuela’s opposition says Rodriguez is not trying to return the country to democracy, but is instead consolidating her own power.