Caracas, Venezuela — Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s cabinet has undergone some changes in recent days, including appointing a handful of new ministers in an apparent attempt to consolidate power just months after former President Nicolas Maduro was arrested by the United States.
According to Benigno Alarcon, founder of the Center for Political and Government Studies at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas, the reshuffle of civil servants in the ministries of defence, transport, housing, culture, power and higher education is a move by Rodríguez to buy time and keep him in power longer.
“I believe what Delsey Rodriguez is trying to do is a political reorganization within the government, with the goal of keeping her in power for as long as possible so that she can have some control once the elections are held,” he said. Latin America Report.
Alarcón believes that the Trump administration’s proposed roadmap after the January 3 attacks has not yet entered its most important phase: the political transition. This is because of the stubborn resistance of the Chavismo movement.
“We cannot say that we are facing a transition period because we see the political deadlock continuing. Marco Rubio’s plan outlines a three-phase strategy, and it is important to remember that phase three is transition. Clearly, we have not entered that phase yet, and clearly Delcy Rodriguez is trying to prevent us from entering that phase,” he commented.
Ministerial changes lacking scope
According to the professor, the recent appointments do not send a clear signal that democratic re-institutionalization is actually taking place in the country. This is because the people appointed as ministers so far are part of Chavez’s inner circle.
“What they’re basically doing is putting in place people whose strengths are their closeness and trust with those in power, isn’t it? I mean, in that sense, nothing has changed. Everything remains pretty much the same,” he said.
Alarcón explained that there was a “recycling” of Chavista figures. “In one faction within Chavismo, some people are leaving and others are coming in, for example, because in the past they were marginalized or overlooked or had opportunities and were excluded, and now they are coming back,” he added.
Chavismo Recycling
The new ministers appointed by Rodríguez are:
- Secretary of Defense Gustavo González López;
- Minister of Housing Jorge Márquez Monsalve;
- Engineer Rolando Alcalá, Minister of Energy and Electricity;
- Minister of Transportation Jacqueline Faría;
- Magistrate Carlos Alexis Castillo, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs;
- Editor Raúl Cazal, Minister of Culture;
- Professor Ana María Sanjuán, Minister of Universities, Education, Science and Technology.
A clear example of Alarcón’s so-called Chavista recycling is Gustavo González López, who replaced Vladimir Padrino López as head of the Ministry of Defense. He was a key figure in Maduro’s government, holding the position for more than a decade, making him the longest-serving minister in the ministry’s history.
Before joining the Pentagon, González López was appointed by Rodríguez in January 2026 to lead the presidency’s direct security and military counterintelligence.
He also played a key role in the oil industry as Director of Strategic Affairs and Production Management at the end of 2024.
This military officer is also known to have led the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN) for two terms (2014-2018 and 2019-2024). Under his leadership, the agency centralized much of its internal political control.
“I believe what Maduro did then was to place the military element in the hands of his trusted general, Vladimir Padrino López, and to put the military in his hands, making him a bridge between the civilian political sector and the military sector. Well, at this point, the bridge has changed, so to speak. Now González López is Delsi’s right-hand man, because Delsi joined her as director of SEBIN for the first time in the past. Because I worked.” Alarcon said.
According to Alarcón, the reorganization of Rodríguez’s cabinet appears to respond more to a strategy of internal protection rather than democratic openness.
While names in the portfolio are recycled and bridges with the military sector are strengthened with extreme confidence figures, the real transition proposed by the international community remains unclear.
Featured Image: Delcy Rodriguez attending a recent Navy event.
Image source: Vice President of Venezuela
