Washington is moving forward in a new phase of its involvement in Venezuela, which includes three simultaneous operations: the reorganization of the cabinet of the acting president Delcy Rodríguez, the distribution of large oil fields among multinationals, and the handover of new chavista leaders to U.S. justice, as reported by journalist David Alandete in his weekly letter for ABC España on Monday.
The movement is framed within the three-phase plan that Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented to the Senate on January 7, 2026, just days after the capture of Nicolás Maduro: institutional stabilization, economic recovery with preferential access for American companies, and, in a third phase, a political transition toward free elections.
Regarding the cabinet, sources quoted by Alandete indicate that sectors of the Trump administration want to replace the ministers who are most aligned with Maduro's political apparatus with technical profiles. "Washington wants to lessen the influence of leaders more committed to the regime and replace them with managers. Delcy would remain in charge, but with a renewed team," the source states.
The challenge is significant: Venezuela has 34 ministries, and at least ten of their leaders have already held positions under Maduro, including Diosdado Cabello —who has been indicted in the U.S. since 2020 for narco-terrorism, with a 25 million dollar bounty on his head.
Moreover, within the executive, there are chavista leaders such as Héctor Rodríguez, Ricardo Menéndez, Yván Gil, Vladimir Padrino López, and Gustavo González López, the current Minister of Defense and former head of SEBIN. Daniella Cabello, the daughter of Diosdado, also remains in the government as the Minister of Tourism.
The possible departure of Cabello from the cabinet, along with the purges already taking place within the military and intelligence structures, constitutes one of the central focuses of this transformation.
In parallel, reports about a dozen private jets on Venezuela-Turkey routes between August and mid-October fuel speculation regarding a potential transfer of assets by the chavista leader, although there is no documented evidence to confirm this.
In the oil sector, the Department of Energy is planning an event for January 2027 — on the first anniversary of Maduro's capture — to present the detailed distribution of oil fields among major multinational companies.
It would be the next step following the agreement that Trump announced in August with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), the company of Venezuelan Alejandro Betancourt, which was granted exploration rights for one hundred years over 17 oil fields with estimated reserves of 65 billion barrels. The preparations are in the preliminary phase and there is no official confirmation.
From Panama, the opposition leader María Corina Machado made it clear in an interview with Fox News that if she comes to power, she will not reverse those agreements: "Absolutely. Each of the agreements signed in accordance with the law will be respected." She added that the United States will be "the strongest and most important ally of Venezuela," although she emphasized that long-term investments require democratic institutions and free elections.
Machado has been outside Venezuela since December 2025, with at least seven failed attempts to return to the country. Her party, Vente Venezuela, called for a national mobilization for this Wednesday with three demands: an electoral schedule for 2027, the safe return of the opposition leader, and the release of political prisoners.
In terms of judicial deliveries, Washington is preparing to transfer Tareck El Aissami, former vice president of Maduro, and Alexander Granko Arteaga, head of special operations of the DGCIM, to U.S. justice.
Maikel Moreno, who presided over the Supreme Court of Justice from 2017 to 2022, is reportedly already under some form of detention, according to Bloomberg and ABC. None of these reports have been officially confirmed.
Several high-ranking executives from oil companies have urged the Trump administration to also negotiate with Machado and his party, arguing that the opposition won the previous presidential elections—whose results were widely disputed—and would likely prevail in free elections, although this projection cannot be taken as certain.
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