Venezuela's Vice President Does a Dramatic U-Turn on the US After Maduro's Arrest

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez addressed the UN General Assembly in New York with a speech strikingly different from her previous fiery attacks on the United States — instead of accusing Washington of "economic terrorism," she spoke of cooperation and partnership.

The shift in tone came after US special forces detained Venezuela's longtime socialist leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas on January 3 and flew him to a prison in the United States. Rodríguez, who had served as vice president, took his place. At first she called the incident a kidnapping and vowed that the revolution would not bow to American dictates — but her tone soon changed dramatically.

An Ultimatum With a 15-Minute Deadline

As Rodríguez herself later admitted, US President Donald Trump gave her and other members of Maduro's former inner circle a stark choice: cooperate or die within 15 minutes. She chose cooperation — and the country she once scornfully called the "empire of the north" became Venezuela's partner and friend.

The contrast between her two UN speeches speaks for itself. In 2019, Rodríguez railed against what she called "shameless plunder," claiming that the US blockade had cost Venezuela's economy $130 billion between 2015 and 2018 and slashed the country's revenues ninefold. This year, that same Rodríguez signed an agreement granting the United States access to 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil — a fifth of the country's total reserves. Two days earlier, in the very same hall, Trump described the deal as the direct result of January's strike on the Maduro regime, declaring: "To the victor go the spoils."

A Promise of Elections, With No Date Attached

In her 19-minute address, Rodríguez declared: "At this session of the General Assembly, I want to state clearly: elections will be held in Venezuela." Yet she gave no date or timeline for a transition to democracy, arguing instead that "the world's most durable democratic transformations" are born not of upheaval but of gradual institutional change.

That vagueness has fueled skepticism among Venezuela's opposition. It has emerged that opposition leader María Corina Machado, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, tried three times this week to return to Venezuela from abroad — by air and by sea — but was turned back each time. According to her US representative, David Smolansky, it remains unclear exactly who is blocking her return, though reports suggest the Trump administration itself opposes it, fearing that Machado's physical presence in the country could destabilize the situation.

"Trying to Save Her Own Skin"

Caracas-based political analyst Alonso Moleiro believes a partnership with Rodríguez suits Trump just fine, and that Venezuela's transition to democracy could drag on for years as she keeps her chief rival Machado sidelined from power. In his view, Rodríguez's ideological about-face has little to do with political rehabilitation and everything to do with saving her own life.

CNN analyst Alfredo Meza adds that time is on Rodríguez's side: as long as no election date is set and she controls the machinery of state, the Chavista movement only grows stronger. Shortly before her trip to New York, Human Rights Watch published a report finding that the Venezuelan state institutions responsible for repression and grave human rights abuses have remained virtually untouched under Rodríguez.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz