Overview
- Reuters reports Trump administration officials warned Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello for months before the Jan. 3 operation not to deploy security services or colectivos, and contacts with him have continued since.
- Cabello remains under a U.S. drug‑trafficking indictment with a reward raised to $25 million, positioning him as a potential spoiler despite public shows of unity with acting leader Delcy Rodríguez.
- Rodríguez is tightening control in Caracas by installing loyalists, including naming Maj. Gen. Gustavo González to lead the DGCIM, while engaging Washington on oil output and meeting CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
- Associated Press documents, cited by multiple outlets, show the DEA labeled Rodríguez a “priority target” in 2022 with files dating to at least 2018, though she has not been publicly accused of a crime.
- Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores are in U.S. custody in New York on narco‑terrorism, drug and weapons charges, as figures such as Mike Pence call for new elections to replace Rodríguez.