Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge Rodríguez are two of the most powerful and controversial figures in Chavismo in Venezuela, especially after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January 2016. Delcy assumed the interim presidency, sworn in by her brother Jorge, who presides over the National Assembly. Together, they wield enormous power in the post-Maduro transition, but their record is marred by accusations of serious corruption, repression, and their role in the country’s economic and humanitarian crisis.
The Rodríguez brothers are the sons of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a Marxist leader of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR) in the 1960s and 1970s. He was arrested and tortured to death in 1976 by CIA-backed security forces during the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez to force him to reveal information about the kidnapping of William Niehaus, president of Owens-Illinois in Venezuela. Niehaus was freed in 1979 after being found by police in a cabin. His kidnapping occurred on February 27, 1976. This family tragedy hardened their ideological convictions and propelled them toward Chavismo from a young age. Those close to them say they swore revenge.
Delcy Rodríguez is the queen of economic power and repression. Delcy (born in 1969) has held key positions such as executive vice president, minister of economy and finance, minister of petroleum (PDVSA), president of the National Constituent Assembly, and minister of communication. Following Maduro’s capture, Washington backed her as a pragmatic figure to avoid a total power vacuum, prioritizing stability over democratic legitimacy, according to analysts.
Delcy Rodriguez is accused of corruption at PDVSA and leading or participating in oil smuggling networks, illegal sales, and embezzlement. Retired generals and opposition figures point to her as the head of the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles; military drug trafficking) along with her brother Jorge Rodriguez, even more so than Maduro himself, according to testimonies such as that of Clíver Alcalá Cordones, currently imprisoned in the U.S. She has been involved in international scandals (Delcygate in 2020), including an illegal landing in Madrid despite EU sanctions, with suitcases full of gold, and alleged money laundering. She is linked to corrupt sales of Venezuelan gold and the diversion of funds from the CLAP program (subsidized food) to accounts abroad.
Delcy was sanctioned by the U.S. and the EU for human rights violations, corruption, and repression. She is linked to the control of SEBIN and El Helicoide, known torture centers, although she denies a direct role in daily torture.
Jorge Rodríguez, her brother, is the political operative and media mastermind. A psychiatrist by training, born in 1965, he has served as president of the National Assembly several times, as well as Minister of Communication, a member of the National Electoral Council (CNE), and a key operative for Chavismo. He is seen as his sister’s right-hand man in controlling the legislative branch and the official narrative. He faces accusations of electoral fraud and manipulation. He is accused of orchestrating election fraud, particularly in 2018 and 2024, while serving as a member of the CNE and president of the National Assembly. Former officials identify him as the mastermind behind the Chavista electoral machine.
Like Delcy, he has been identified as a co-leader of the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles) by retired military officers. He is also linked to money laundering networks and the protection of drug traffickers. As Minister of Communication and media operative, he has been instrumental in censorship, propaganda, and the persecution of opposition figures. He announced the release of political prisoners in January 2026 as a gesture of peace, but critics say it is slow and selective, with only a few released so far, while thousands remain in El Helicoide and other prisons of repression.
Jorge Rodriguez participated in the institutional destruction, aiding in the dissolution of the legitimate National Assembly in 2017 and creating a parallel Constituent Assembly. He maintains the repressive and corrupt status quo.
In short, the Rodriguez brothers represent the continuity of hardline Chavismo amidst US intervention because they are the architects of the economic collapse (hyperinflation, shortages, mass exodus).
Massive corruption in PDVSA, gold, the CLAP program, and drug trafficking.
Systematic repression (political prisoners, torture, disappearances).
Electoral fraud that perpetuated the regime.
On the other hand, in the new scenario of 2026, Delcy is negotiating with Trump (oil sales, drug cooperation), announcing releases and economic adjustments. Some see pragmatism; others, just a change of facade to save the system. The popular verdict in Venezuela is that they are part of the same disaster that plunged Venezuela into the worst crisis in its modern history.
