Venezuela’s military and police pledge loyalty to interim president Delcy Rodríguez, consolidating her hold after Maduro’s US ouster
CARACAS: Venezuela’s military and police pledged loyalty Wednesday to interim president Delcy Rodriguez, whom the United States kept in power after ousting Nicolas Maduro.
The pledge signifies the support of a key bastion behind Maduro — the military — as he braved US pressure and sanctions against his leftwing regime since succeeding Hugo Chavez in 2013.
As Rodriguez tries to shore up support for her leadership, the 56-year-old is walking a tight wire, seeking to please both Maduro loyalists and US President Donald Trump.
“We swear absolute loyalty and subordination,” said Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, who presented Rodriguez with the ceremonial baton and sword of independence hero Simon Bolivar.
Venezuela’s powerful interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, pledged loyalty on behalf of police forces.
The pledge came as more than 3,000 troops and police in uniform filed past Venezuela’s first female leader and commander in chief.
“This is an unprecedented moment in our republic,” said Padrino.
Cabello, seen as a key force behind the scenes in the Maduro government, said supporting Rodriguez was important “because we feel that to defend your rule is to defend the continuity of the government and the integrity of the Venezuelan people.”
US forces snatched Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in a January 3 raid on Caracas that stunned the world, taking them to New York for trial on US drug trafficking charges.
Trump has said Rodriguez can stay on as long as she does what he wants, especially granting the United States access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Trump indicated hours after deposing Maduro that he favored getting his way by pressuring Rodriguez rather than seeking to empower the opposition, dismissing its leader Maria Corina Machado as a “very nice woman” who did not command “respect.”
Machado, the Nobel peace laureate visiting Washington on Wednesday, lashed out at the interim president, casting doubt on whether she can be trusted.
“I think no one has faith in Delcy Rodriguez,” Machado told reporters after talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Machado said of Rodriguez: “We’re talking about criminals. They have killed people intentionally. They have made a third of our population leave our country and flee.
“They have designed the most criminal torture and repressive system in history in this hemisphere.
“This is state terrorism and she’s an essential part of it.”
At the military ceremony on Wednesday Rodriguez hit back, saying sarcastically Machado is not wanted in Venezuela.
“Those who seek to perpeturate harm and damage against the people of Venezuela, let them stay in Washington,” Rodriguez said.
