In a surprising turn of events, the CIA chief, John Ratcliffe, has flown to Venezuela to meet with the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, just two weeks after his agents were reportedly involved in the abduction of former president Nicolás Maduro. This development comes as the opposition leader, María Corina Machado, vows to become Venezuela’s first elected female president, and has even presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump in recognition of his “principled and decisive move” against Maduro.
The situation in Venezuela remains highly complex and fluid. Machado’s comments about becoming president have been met with scepticism from experts, who believe that Trump has effectively sidelined the opposition movement by giving his blessing to Rodríguez, Maduro’s vice president, to govern as acting president. Rodríguez has vowed to improve ties with the US, and has already begun complying with one of Trump’s key demands – opening up Venezuela’s vast oil reserves to US companies.
Golinger, a US lawyer who advised Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, believes that Machado’s attempt to regain Trump’s favour by offering him her Nobel Peace Prize medal is unlikely to work, as Rodríguez is already giving the US administration what it wants. She also suggests that Trump sees Machado as “weak” and is unlikely to disrupt the current situation in Venezuela.
The arrival of CIA Director Ratcliffe in Caracas has been seen as a humiliating moment for Rodríguez and her “interim administration.” Less than two weeks earlier, Ratcliffe’s agents had played a key role in infiltrating Maduro’s inner circle and pinpointing his location, leading to his capture. Rodríguez has acknowledged the right of Venezuela to have good relations with the US, and has even expressed a willingness to travel to Washington for talks.
Experts believe that the “pretext of any kind of anti-imperialist socialist movement” in Venezuela has been “stripped away,” and that the current situation represents a “clear betrayal of everything that the Chavismo movement stood for.” As Venezuelans grapple with the uncertainty of their political future, the involvement of the CIA and the Trump administration has further complicated an already volatile situation.
