Delcy Rodríguez in focus as Miami Herald reporter says “there’s no change” in Venezuela

Delcy Rodríguez has emerged as a central figure in Venezuela’s political future, but fear and uncertainty continue to define daily life despite the removal of Nicolás Maduro, according to an interview with Miami Herald Latin America reporter Antonio Maria Delgado on Facing South Florida.

Delgado said Rodríguez appears to be trying to comply with the United States, even as conditions inside Venezuela remain unstable.

“My sense is that I think Delcy’s trying to comply with the U.S.,” Delgado said, adding that Washington likely has “a great deal of leverage” over her that “goes beyond the threat of: ‘if you don’t do what we say, you’re gonna be next.'”

That pressure, Delgado said, may explain why political prisoners were reportedly released. 

“We’re seeing all this effort to go ahead and comply that includes the liberation today of political prisoners,” he said. At the same time, Delgado noted that arrests are still being made against people protesting in support of Maduro’s removal, sending mixed signals about the country’s direction.

One of the most significant concessions discussed was the announcement that the U.S. would be running Venezuela’s oil industry for years to come. Delgado called it “quite a concession,” saying it would have been unimaginable just months earlier.

Despite political shifts and international involvement, Delgado said life for ordinary Venezuelans has not improved. Asked whether life feels better now than a week ago, he said bluntly, “The answer is no.”

Fear remains widespread, Delgado said, noting that armed collectives and paramilitary groups continue to operate. 

“There’s a risk of you grabbing you in the streets and being taken to a prison and being tortured,” he said, adding that such abuses are “quite common in Venezuela.”

Delgado also said the Chavista movement lacks real popular support, estimating it at “somewhere between 5 and 10%.” Under Maduro, he said, the economy shrank by “somewhere between 75 to 80%,” and violence helped drive “8 million people leaving the country,” nearly a quarter of the population.

Because key elements of the old regime remain in place, Delgado said it is premature to declare the country free. 

“There’s no change. Not at this point,” he said, adding that control of the military remains unresolved and held by figures opposed to plans coming out of Washington.

Until those power structures are dismantled and Rodríguez’s control is meaningfully reduced, Delgado said, Venezuelans will continue to live in fear and will not feel safe.