Who is who among the Chavistas accompanying Nicolás Maduro in the confrontation with the United States?

The recent formation of a new political office in Venezuela composed of historical and emerging figures, The aim is to strengthen the leadership of Chavismo and close ranks around President Nicolás Maduro amid tensions with the United States, which maintains a military operation in the Caribbean.

Maduro appointed this body on December 1st. with twelve leaders of Chavismo, so that – as he assured – “they assume leadership at the highest level of political, social forces and the Bolivarian revolution.”

The President, who swore in the command of the Integral Bolivarian Community at the same event, stated that this group of leaders will accompany him in his “leadership as Commander-in-Chief of the Revolution.”

The creation of this body comes at a time when the United States has claimed since late August a military operation in the Caribbeannear Venezuelan waters, under the argument of fighting drug trafficking, which Caracas has however denounced as a threat intended to encourage a change of government.

The political scientist and managing partner of Log Consultancy, Pablo Andrés Quintero, explained to EFE that the creation of the political office would like to send a message to the international community, especially the United States, that there is a government and some people who, “from a political point of view,” are the ones who accompany the Chavista ruler in this crisis.

“It’s something temporary and the goal is to create a propaganda image for the United States saying ‘the president.’ He is not alone, he has people who accompany him and people from different spheres of public power,” the expert added.

As part of this structure, Maduro appointed and sworn in Chavismo leaders, already part of his government and the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), as general secretary of this political formation. Diosdado hair, who is also Minister of the Interior and Justice.

The historical figures of Chavismo also include the President of Parliament Jorge Rodríguez, the Minister of Education Héctor Rodríguez, the First Lady, Cilia Flores, the Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, the Deputy Tania Díaz, the Mayor of the Libertador Municipality of Caracas, Carmen Meléndez, and the Deputy and President of the Society for the Development of the Zuliana Region, Francisco Ameliach.

Among the ruling party’s emerging faces, Maduro appointed the head of the capital district government, Nahum Fernández, the first vice-president of ParliamentPedro Infante, the Minister of Youth Grecia Colmenares and the Minister of Science Gabriela Jiménez.

Quintero pointed out that this political office is also a way to show that Maduro’s team does not only include people from the “old guard” from the time of the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013).

“The message also aims to show this to the United Socialist Party of Venezuela itself.” There is a structure of flesh and bloodsome are MPs, others are members of the Cabinet, others are advisory members, that is, there is a plurality in terms of the government that exists,” he noted.

However, for this analyst it is not clear whether this political office will replace the national leadership of the PSUV or whether it will be a structure for temporary consultations and advice in light of tensions with the United States.

The new political office It consists only of civilian leadersalthough the government has always insisted on the formula of a “popular, military and police union”.

Although this “symbiosis” exists, according to Quintero, the executive branch does not try to mix a “war speech” with a political structure “which is handled in completely different, more diplomatic codes.”

“He wants to maintain, in a way, a semblance of a separation of powers: the military on one side, the party on the other, the government plays very closely with the party, but the military is a little more focused on defending sovereignty, on things that are more about territorial defense, things that have more to do with the military component,” he added.

Tensions between Caracas and Washington have worsened in recent weeks after the US Federal Aviation Administration urged “extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean, prompting a wave of flight suspensions to and from the South American country.

Subsequently, United States President Donald Trump, who had threatened to ground anti-drug trafficking measures, warned pilots and airlines that they should consider Venezuelan airspace closed, prompting other airlines to join in the temporary cancellations of itineraries, leaving only local companies operating international flights in Venezuela in recent days.

However, both Maduro and Trump have independently confirmed that they had a phone conversation that the Venezuelan president described as “cordial,” without providing further details on the topics discussed.