The main players in Venezuela’s government and who could be targeted next

Published January 7, 2026 12:48pm ET



As Venezuela‘s former dictator Nicolás Maduro left his country, captured by U.S. military forces, Maduro’s cabinet and regime officials made it out of the operation largely unscathed, still holding onto their positions of power.

President Donald Trump has opted to work with Maduro’s former vice president Delcy Rodríguez, whom the Venezuelan Supreme Court tapped to serve as interim President in Maduro’s absence. But Trump has also made several looming threats to Rodríguez and the post-Maduro leadership in Venezuela, telling The Atlantic, “If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

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