Maduro seized, but power network still holds Venezuela
Venezuela faces deep uncertainty over who is really in charge after U.S. forces seized President Nicolas Maduro and flew him out of the country, even though Washington says Vice President Delcy Rodríguez has been named acting leader. Venezuela’s top court has said the constitution makes Rodríguez interim president in Maduro’s absence, but she quickly appeared on state TV with powerful regime figures to insist Maduro remains the only president, signalling that his inner circle is still united. For more than a decade, real power in Venezuela has rested with a small group of senior civilian and military officials who control security forces, state institutions and major economic sectors. Analysts say this patronage network, built on loyalty, corruption and surveillance, is harder to dismantle than simply removing Maduro, because dozens of key players would need to be sidelined before genuine change […]
