U.S. acceptance of Nicolás Maduro's former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as a legitimate successor in Venezuela is a mistake, former U.S. special representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told Newsmax on Sunday, saying the move ignores the reality of who actually controls the country's security apparatus and political machinery.
Speaking during an appearance on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Abrams said Rodríguez "is not running the country — the thugs are."
The U.S. risks repeating past mistakes by supporting the wrong figures in the post-Maduro transition, Abrams said.
He added that Rodríguez, now elevated in the wake of Maduro's removal, lacks both democratic legitimacy and real authority, serving instead as a political façade for powerful figures inside Venezuela's military and security services.
"If Maduro was illegal and illegitimate, how can his vice president suddenly be legitimate?" Abrams asked. "She's an old crony of Maduro's, and Venezuelans know it."
According to Abrams, the true centers of power remain with the minister of defense and the minister of security, including Diosdado Cabello, whom he described as the strongman overseeing intelligence services, police forces, and internal repression.
"These are the people who actually run the country," Abrams said. "They control the guns, the money, and the fear."
Abrams warned that continuing to back figures tied to the old regime risks undermining any credible democratic transition and could further alienate Venezuelans who have endured years of economic collapse, corruption, and political persecution.
"This is not what Venezuelans want, and it's not going to hold," he said. "You can't build a stable future by recycling the same people who helped destroy the country."
The former diplomat also cautioned that security elites have a vested interest in preserving the status quo, including protecting illicit revenue streams tied to corruption, drug trafficking, and patronage networks that flourished under the Chávez-Maduro era.
Abrams said a genuine transition must confront the power of these security figures directly rather than masking it behind nominal civilian leadership.
"Putting our money on Maduro's vice president is a terrible mistake," Abrams said. "It ignores the reality on the ground."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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