Washington signals interior minister must back acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, or face Nicolás Maduro’s fate
The Trump administration has reportedly put Venezuela’s hardline interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, on notice that he could be next to fall if he does not support the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who has been in power since the dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was seized on Saturday.
Reuters reported that US officials are “especially concerned” that Cabello – long seen by many as the regime’s real number two – could sabotage Washington’s plan to keep key figures from Maduro’s inner circle in place in the name of stability while pursuing a transition – and unrestricted access to Venezuela’s oil.
In a post on Monday, Donald Trump said Venezuela would be “turning over” $2bn worth of crude to the US, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper production cuts.
In the meantime, US officials have told Cabello through intermediaries, according to Reuters, that if he proves defiant, he could face a fate similar to Maduro’s.
