Under pressure from the United States, Ms. Rodriguez seems to have waited until she had a firm grip on the military apparatus to push General Padrino out, who also suffered humiliation due to the army’s inability to protect the head of state.
“We thank General Vladimir Padrino Lopez for his dedication, loyalty to the homeland, and for being, all these years, the first soldier in defense of our country. We are certain that he will assume with the same commitment and honor the new responsibilities that will be entrusted to him,” Ms. Rodriguez wrote on Telegram.
Coincidence? This announcement comes at a time of national excitement sparked by Venezuela’s victory in the World Baseball Classic, the equivalent of the World Cup in soccer, a sport more popular than soccer in this Caribbean country.
Since assuming the functions of interim president, Ms. Rodriguez has sidelined many of Nicolas Maduro’s close associates from circles of power.
Still under pressure from Washington, she also had the oil law revised, opening this sector to foreign private investors, enacted an amnesty law allowing the release of political prisoners, and promised judicial reform. Venezuela has also restored diplomatic relations with the United States (severed in 2019) less than three months after the attack on Mr. Maduro.
Minister of Defense since 2014, Mr. Padrino, 62, was considered a close ally of Nicolas Maduro within the military’s top hierarchy.
The army, a pillar of Chavismo (the doctrine of former President Hugo Chavez succeeded by Mr. Maduro), had expressed to Vladimir Padrino, its commander since 2024, its unconditional support and absolute “loyalty.”
To replace him, Delcy Rodriguez appointed Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez, the chief of the presidential guard and the feared counter-espionage department since the capture of Nicolas Maduro. He had previously led the intelligence services (Sebin), also highly feared and active in political repression.
Ms. Rodriguez also announced replacements for the Ministers of Housing, Electricity, Transportation, and Labor.
“It was the greatest honor of my life: to serve the Fatherland as a soldier and to protect peace and national unity for all these years at the helm of the Ministry of Popular Power for Defense,” wrote General Padrino a few minutes after his removal. “I am certain that the army will emerge stronger. We will prevail!”
To keep them on his side, Nicolas Maduro had given the military control of private companies, as well as customs and important ministries, prompting numerous accusations of abuse and corruption.
