CIA report helped Trump decide on Maduro’s successor

The assessment concluded that Maduro’s high-ranking allies, including interim dictator Delcy Rodríguez, would be in a better position to maintain short-term stability in an interim government if dictator Nicolás Maduro were removed from the Venezuelan political scene.

According to the report, Trump and a select group made up of members of his senior national security team were briefed weeks ago on the report, before announcing that they would rely on Delcy as their interlocutor in Caracas and not on opposition leader María Corina Machado.

According to the Journalas in his first term, Trump was convinced that short-term stability in Venezuela could only be maintained if the figure in a position to succeed Maduro had the support of the armed forces and other elites in the country.

According to the sources consulted for the report, the CIA report cited Delcy Rodríguez and two other important figures in the Venezuelan regime as possible interim rulers capable of maintaining internal order. Although the names of these other figures were not mentioned, the two main power brokers allied with Maduro are the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, and the Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino.

The two hardline Chavistas, however, face criminal charges in the US and are seen as leaders who would not cooperate with the Trump administration.

Since last year, the CIA has been in direct contact with an inside source in Venezuela, linked to Maduro’s inner circle, who has provided information on his whereabouts. This rigorous surveillance allowed American special forces to remove the dictator and his wife during the operation in the early hours of the 3rd.