Caracas.- The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, announced this Friday three new ministerial changes in the areas of Transportation, Ecosocialism and Communication, eleven days after assuming the leadership of the Executive after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by US forces.
In his Telegram account, Rodríguez reported on the appointment of Freddy Ñáñez, until now head of Communication and Information, as Minister for Ecosocialism, replacing Aníbal Coronado.
Coronado, for his part, was appointed the new Minister of Transportation, a position held by Ramón Velásquez Araguayán, whom Rodríguez thanked for his “commitment” and his “work”.
Also, to fill the vacancy left by Ñáñez, the acting president announced the appointment of the philosopher Miguel Ángel Pérez Pirela as the new Minister of Communication and Information.
These designations are in addition to other previously announced ministerial and government changes, including the appointment of Captain Juan Escalona, a member of President Nicolás Maduro’s security team, as Minister of the Office of the Presidency.
Rodríguez had also announced on January 6, three days after Maduro’s capture, the appointment of former Central Bank President Calixto Ortega as the new vice president of economy.
Changes in the Military Leadership
That same day, he also dismissed Maduro’s head of Security, Major General Javier Marcano Tábata, and appointed General Gustavo González López as commander of the Presidential Honor Guard and head of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM).
Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president on January 5 before the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), which is headed by her brother, the deputy Jorge Rodríguez.
The Chavista leader assumed this role following an order from the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), after the capture of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during the US attacks in Caracas and three other states.
Since then, the caretaker government has initiated an “exploratory” process to resume relations with the United States, has agreed to send millions of barrels of crude oil to the U.S. for commercialization, and has opened the oil industry to foreign investment with the support of the Republican Administration.
