CARACAS, Venezuela — In a significant governmental reorganization, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez unveiled a comprehensive Cabinet restructuring on Wednesday, most notably replacing Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino López with Gen. Gustavo González López. The transition, announced via Rodríguez’s Telegram channel, takes immediate effect as the administration navigates heightened U.S. pressure following former President Nicolás Maduro’s capture.
Rodríguez expressed gratitude to Padrino López for his ‘loyalty to the Homeland’ while conveying confidence in his future governmental roles. The leadership change occurs just over ten weeks after Rodríguez assumed executive authority, triggered by the January 3rd U.S. military operation that apprehended Maduro to face drug trafficking charges in American courts.
The newly appointed defense chief brings substantial intelligence expertise to the position but carries controversial credentials. González López faced U.S. sanctions for his involvement in suppressing 2014 street protests and recently commanded both the presidential honor guard and the military’s formidable counterintelligence agency since Rodríguez’s security detail reshuffle in early January.
Padrino López had served as one of the most enduring Cabinet members since Maduro’s 2013 inauguration and held the defense portfolio since 2014, representing a pillar of military support for the former administration. The cabinet realignment signals a strategic repositioning as the current leadership faces intensified international scrutiny over governing the resource-abundant nation.