Jorge Rodríguez, President of the National Assembly of Venezuela and brother of the interim president Delcy Rodríguez, gave an interview to the Spanish newspaper El País in which he discussed the most sensitive issues of the current political moment in Venezuela, 100 days after the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
To the question that generated the most anticipation -whether there was an internal betrayal to facilitate the capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on January 3- Rodríguez was categorical.
"I am confident that this is not the case, regarding the political leadership and military command; in fact, the then Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was working with President Maduro until the 2nd at 11:20 PM," he said.
The Chavista leader provided additional details to support his argument: "That same day at 11 PM, I spoke on the phone with President Maduro. I understand that Diosdado [Cabello] was in constant contact with him during those hours, and if an event of the nature you are indicating had occurred, it surely would have been known by now."
Rodríguez denied that there are internal rifts within Chavismo and defended the unity of the movement with a straightforward statement: "Chavismo is more united than ever. Before they said it was Maduro and Diosdado, now they say it's the Rodríguez."
The interview takes place against a backdrop of increasing opposition pressure: the opposition party Vente Venezuela, led by María Corina Machado, demanded last Friday the call for presidential elections, as the 90-day period established by Article 234 of the Constitution has elapsed since the "absolute absence" of the deposed dictator.
Regarding the possibility of holding new elections, the president of the National Assembly avoided giving specific dates and conditioned any electoral process on two factors: economic recovery and the building of trust in the electoral authority.
"I couldn't tell you exactly when, nor even which will be the first election, because there is much to be done. Another thing that needs to be done is that everyone can trust the electoral authority that will organize those elections; that is far more important than the actual organization of the election itself."
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