A classified US intelligence assessment recently concluded that senior members of Nicolas Maduro’s regime - including Vice President Delcy Rodríguez - would be best positioned to lead a temporary government in Caracas and maintain short‑term stability if Maduro were to lose power, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefed the analysis to President Trump and shared it with a small group of senior administration officials, two of the people told WSJ. It was a factor in Trump’s decision to back Maduro’s vice president rather than opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, some of the people added.
The assessment sheds light on Trump’s decision not to support the opposition’s attempt to take control of Venezuela following the US military operation last week that captured Maduro and brought him to the United States for trial. As in his first term, Trump believed that near‑term stability in Venezuela required a successor who had the backing of the armed forces and other regime elites.
Senior administration officials commissioned the CIA to conduct the assessment and debated its findings during internal discussions about day‑after planning for Venezuela, the people said. Those familiar with the report said they did not know the exact date it was produced. Two of the people said the report was briefed to Trump in recent weeks.
Maduro, who was extracted to New York City, appeared in court Monday to face federal narco‑terrorism charges. He pleaded not guilty.