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Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge established secret contacts with officials from the United States and Qatar months before the military operation that culminated in the capture of the dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
According to a report published by The Guardian, the brothers promised to cooperate with the administration of Donald Trump once the Chavista leader was removed from power.
According to sources quoted by the British newspaper, Delcy Rodríguez—then Vice President of Venezuela—and her brother Jorge, President of the National Assembly, assured U.S. and Qatari officials, through intermediaries, that they would view Maduro's departure favorably.
The conversations began in the fall of last year and continued after a phone call between Trump and Maduro at the end of November, during which the American president demanded that he relinquish power.
Maduro rejected the demand, but Delcy Rodríguez informed Washington that she was ready to act in the subsequent scenario.
"Delcy was communicating that Maduro should leave," said one of the sources. Another person familiar with the messages stated that Rodríguez expressed her willingness to "work with whatever comes next."
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who initially appeared skeptical about the possibility of collaborating with members of the regime, came to consider that Delcy Rodríguez's promises were the best way to avoid chaos in Venezuela once Maduro was removed.
The commitment to cooperation undertaken by the Rodríguez brothers before the U.S. military incursion had not been reported until now.
In October, the Miami Herald, quoted by The Guardian, revealed that Delcy had offered, through Qatar, to lead a transitional government if Maduro agreed to resign, although that proposal did not materialize.
For its part, Reuters reported on Sunday that Diosdado Cabello, the Minister of the Interior and one of the most powerful figures in Chavismo, also held discussions with representatives from the United States months before the operation that led to Maduro's arrest.
A photograph taken in Caracas on January 8 shows Cabello leading a ceremony in honor of Venezuelan and Cuban soldiers who died during the U.S. operation.
Sources claim that, although Delcy and her brother promised to cooperate after the president's downfall, they did not agree to participate directly in his ousting, emphasizing that it was not a coup planned by them.
Hours after the operation, Trump seemed to confirm the contacts. In statements to the New York Post, the president said: “We have spoken with her many times and she understands the situation.”
The Venezuelan government did not respond to the questions sent via email, and the White House declined to provide comments on the details of the discussions.
The report from The Guardian adds that, in addition to secret contacts, official meetings were held between Trump officials and representatives of the Maduro government.
Maduro himself met with Ric Grenell, a close advisor to the president, just ten days after Trump’s inauguration to discuss the release of American prisoners, who were freed shortly thereafter.
Sources familiar with the discussions stated that, while diplomatic channels remained open, Trump and his advisers were in communication with the Rodríguez brothers to coordinate matters such as the biweekly flights of Venezuelans deported from the United States, the fate of Venezuelan prisoners in El Salvador, and the potential release of imprisoned opposition members.
According to the same sources, Delcy Rodríguez maintained close personal ties with members of the Qatari royal family, a country that acted as a mediator and has a good relationship with Washington.
The small emirate donated a luxury plane worth 400 million dollars to President Trump, an unprecedented gesture that strengthened trust between both parties and facilitated the rapprochement with Rodríguez, according to two informants.
In the months leading up to Maduro's fall, Delcy Rodríguez supposedly proposed once again the establishment of a transition government led by herself, a plan that failed but convinced several U.S. officials that she was not a dogmatic leader.
Close sources describe her as a skillful and charismatic figure, capable of forming personal connections with foreign diplomats.
Among his eccentricities are his fondness for champagne, his private table tennis coach, and his habit of challenging dignitaries to friendly matches.
In October, even the toughest U.S. officials on Maduro were accepting the possibility of working with Rodríguez.
One of the reasons was her promise to cooperate with U.S. oil companies. "Delcy is the most committed to working with U.S. oil," assured an ally of hers.
Mauricio Claver-Carone, former special envoy of Trump for Latin America and close to Secretary Rubio, was one of his main promoters, although he declined to comment on the matter.
A photograph from January 15 in Caracas shows Delcy Rodríguez alongside the portrait of Hugo Chávez, now serving as interim president.
His role, according to sources cited by The Guardian, was essential for maintaining the institutional stability of the country after Maduro's capture.
"The most important thing was to prevent Venezuela from becoming a failed state," affirmed one of the officials involved.
Sources claim that it was towards the end of autumn when the Rodríguez brothers began negotiating with the United States behind Maduro's back.
The November phone call between Trump and the then-president marked a turning point: a week later, it became clear that Maduro had no intention of relinquishing power.
For Delcy Rodríguez, the operation was a balancing act. Although she agreed to collaborate with Washington, she avoided directly betraying Maduro. "She feared him," said an official who was aware of the events.
When the U.S. attack helicopters burst into Caracas at the beginning of January, Delcy Rodríguez was not in the capital.
While some rumors placed her in Moscow, two sources confirmed that she was taking refuge in Margarita Island.
The report from The Guardian concludes that the Trump administration's priority was to ensure stability following the fall of the Chavist regime and to prevent a civil war.
In that context, Delcy Rodríguez emerged as the pragmatic alternative to maintain internal order during the transition to a new government.
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