This photo, released by Venezuela’s presidential press service, shows interim president Delcy Rodriguez (center) in a cabinet meeting in Caracas, on January 4, 2026. The Central Intelligence Agency and the Venezuela government did not respond to requests for comment. The CIA has previously assessed that officials loyal to Maduro, including Rodriguez, were best positioned to govern the country following his ouster. But critics of Trump’s Venezuela strategy have expressed doubts about the wisdom of keeping Maduro’s loyalists in place as the country’s interim leaders. Iran has helped Venezuela repair oil refineries while China has taken oil as repayment for debt.