The interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, dismissed Vladimir Padrino López this Wednesday after more than a decade as the country's Minister of Defense. She appointed General Gustavo González López to replace him, two months after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a U.S. military attack in Caracas. «We thank General Vladimir Padrino López for his dedication, his loyalty to the Homeland, and for having been, for all these years, the first soldier in the defense of our country,» stated the interim president in a message posted on Telegram. She also assured that the now former minister would assume «new responsibilities that will be entrusted to him,» without providing further details. Padrino López held this cabinet position since October 24, 2014, appointed after a wave of massive anti-government protests marked the beginning of Nicolás Maduro's first presidential term. The new Minister of Defense, Gustavo González López, has served as Commander General of the Presidential Honor Guard since January 6, when he was appointed by Rodríguez. On the same date, he was also appointed head of the General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM). González López has also been director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) between 2014 and 2018, and then again between 2019 and 2024. Among other positions, he was also Minister of Interior and Justice and Commander General of the Bolivarian National Militia. Padrino López's dismissal comes two and a half months after the U.S. military attack on Caracas and three other states in the country, which culminated in the capture of Maduro and his wife, deputy Cilia Flores, who are currently imprisoned in the United States. Since her inauguration as interim president on January 5, Rodríguez has made changes to the cabinet, including the appointment of Paula Henao as Minister of Hydrocarbons, as well as Luis Villegas at the head of the Ministry of Industry and National Trade, replacing Colombian businessman Alex Saab, who was imprisoned in the United States and was close to Nicolás Maduro. The interim president has initiated a rapprochement with the Donald Trump administration – whom she has called a «partner and friend» – and has received several high-ranking U.S. officials in the Venezuelan capital, such as the Secretaries of Energy and Interior, Chris Wright and Doug Burgum, respectively.
