Just as United States President Donald Trump announced to the world that a US military operation had captured Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, the country’s Defense Minister, General Vladimir Padrino López, released a video on social media and the Telesur television channel detailing the attack his country suffered. These two facts clearly show that the overthrow of Maduro does not imply, at least not immediately, the overthrow of Chavismo.
Sources in Caracas speculate on the possibility that Maduro was “handed over to the Americans” by the Venezuelan military. Which military? So far, no one has this answer. But the possibility of some form of internal collaboration with the US armed forces cannot be ruled out.
Padrino López has led the Defense portfolio for more than a decade and has always been considered an unconditional ally of Maduro. In recent months, attempts by the opposition and the United States to provoke a split within the Bolivarian Armed Force (Fanb) have been constant. Perhaps this goal has been achieved. What role did Padrino play in this possible split, another question still unanswered. In his statement, the general rejects the possibility of “regime change”. He talks about “resisting” and “winning,” and claims to be following orders from “President” Maduro who, at that time, according to Trump, was already out of the country.
General Pedrino López has his residence at Fort Tiuna, one of the military targets of this morning’s American operation. Amid rumors of his death, the minister appeared in the video wearing his uniform and giving details of the attacks. He spoke about missiles and defended the unity of the country. Will Padrino be the man of the resistance or, who knows, the future strongman of Venezuela, with the support of the United States? Nothing can be excluded. Chavismo could survive and mutate. Maduro was the country’s president, but Chavismo goes far beyond the now-deposed Venezuelan president.
In all this context, the silence of opposition leader María Corina Machado and former presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who have always defended foreign intervention in the country and requested the support of the Venezuelan army to remove Maduro from power, is striking.
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