Rodriguez removes Maduro loyalist Alex Saab from government

Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Friday that she has dismissed Alex Saab from the government, the businessman widely seen as one of ousted President Nicolás Maduro’s key allies, amid renewed U.S. influence over the country.

Considered a crucial international intermediary for the chavista movement, Saab, 54, was arrested in 2021 and held in the United States on charges of establishing a system to divert food aid for the benefit of Maduro and his government. He was exchanged in December 2023 for 10 Americans imprisoned in Venezuela, a deal that Maduro described at the time as “a triumph.”

The businessman, who holds Colombian nationality and is of Lebanese descent, notably helped strengthen Venezuela’s oil ties with Iran in the face of U.S. sanctions. He was appointed minister of industry in December 2024 and leaves the government less than two weeks after the dramatic capture of his mentor in Caracas by U.S. forces on Jan. 3.

“I thank my comrade Alex Saab for his service to the nation; he will now assume new responsibilities,” Rodríguez said on Telegram, adding that his ministry, which had been merged with the national commerce portfolio, would be dissolved.

According to a U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Rodríguez, who is under U.S. sanctions, in Caracas on Thursday “to convey the message that the United States looks forward to building a better working relationship.” U.S. President Donald Trump also held an extended conversation this week with Rodríguez, praising her as a “wonderful person.”

Trump said he intended to dictate decisions made by Caracas, particularly on oil matters, until further notice.

The interim president is now executing “orders” from Washington, Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said on Friday in Washington. She added that Venezuela is undergoing “a true transition to democracy” and will be “free” with Trump’s support. Machado, who was barred from running in the 2024 presidential election, said in an interview with Fox News that she would be elected president “when the time comes.” Trump, however, said after Maduro’s capture that Machado was not qualified to lead the country.

In Caracas, a plane carrying 231 Venezuelan migrants expelled from the United States arrived on Friday, according to AFP journalists at the scene, the first such flight since Maduro’s capture.

Despite Trump’s ambitions regarding Venezuela’s oil sector, major multinational energy companies remain cautious about investing heavily in the country’s infrastructure.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at 303.2 billion barrels, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), ahead of Saudi Arabia and Iran. However, years of mismanagement and corruption have seen production fall from a peak of more than 3 million barrels per day to a historic low of just over 350,000 bpd in 2020. Output currently stands at around 1.2 million bpd, according to official figures.