WHO

Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife were processed Monday in New York on federal drug trafficking and other charges following his capture in a dramatic US military operation over the weekend. But virtually the entire inner circle of the ousted leader – including some with whom he is accused of running a cartel who have allegedly smuggled tons of cocaine into the United States—remain in place.

The United States, along with many Venezuelans and other nations, believe that the elections in Venezuela last year was actually won decisively by the party of María Corina Machado, Nobel Peace Prize 2025long-time leader of the country’s persecuted political opposition. Maduro declared victory despite widespread accusations of electoral fraud and intimidation.

But Machado has lived in exile for many months and his current location was unclear Monday. She appeared to have been largely snubbed by Trump in his immediate plans for Venezuela, and the U.S. leader said she lacks the popular support to be installed as the new head of government.

Machado expressed optimism in a statement Monday that she and “the brave people of Venezuela” would soon enjoy freedom and “celebrate in our land.” But for now, those holding the guns and apparently running the country are not his supporters, but those of Nicolás Maduro.

Here’s a look at some of the most senior members of the Maduro regime who remain in Caracas, and in the case of at least one, just got a promotion.

Delcy Rodriguez

The highest-ranking member of Maduro’s inner circle who was not affected by the weekend’s US attacks and raids is likely the country’s former vice president. Delcy Rodríguez, who took the oath Monday as the new interim president, taking the reins from her longtime political mentor.

The 56-year-old has long been seen as a loyal confidant and protégé of the now-ousted Venezuelan leader, and a member of a cadre accused by Washington for many years of helping Maduro maintain his authoritarian grip on power.

It was unclear Monday whether Rodriguez and the Trump administration could find a way to work together and therefore whether she could remain in power to some extent following Trump’s claim that the United States would “rule” Venezuela for an unspecified period.

Trump warned over the weekend that if Rodriguez “does not do the right thing, he will pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro’s.”

Diosdado Hair

Another stalwart of the Maduro regime is Diosdado Cabello, who currently serves as Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, where he oversees the country’s police and prisons.

Cabello previously served as vice president and for many years as president of the country’s parliament. He also spent years commanding the Venezuelan intelligence services.

Like Maduro, he was indicted on criminal charges in the United States, accused of helping traffic more than 5 tons of cocaine into the United States.

In 2020, he was among those charged with several federal drug and weapons crimes in an indictment filed in the same Southern District of New York that was handling Maduro’s prosecution on Monday.

The indictment names Cabello as a senior figure in the Cartel of the Suns, which Maduro is accused of leading.

Vladimir Padrino López

Vladimir Padrino López, currently Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, is also accused of direct participation in drug trafficking to the United States.

He is accused by the United States of allowing the safe passage of commercial flights carrying illegal drugs and charging a protection fee for doing so, and he was indicted in federal court in Washington DC in 2020.

Jorge Rodriguez

The brother of the new interim president, Jorge Rodríguez, has served as president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, the country’s legislature controlled by Maduro, since 2021. He is also considered a key figure in the regime.

“My main function in the coming days… as president of this National Assembly, will be to resort to all procedures, all platforms and all avenues to bring back Nicolás Maduro Moros, my brother, my president,” Jorge Rodríguez told lawmakers.

Like his sister, Rodríguez has been sanctioned by the US Treasury for his alleged role in undermining democracy in Venezuela and propping up Maduro’s authoritarian regime.

Nicolás “Nicolasito” Ernesto Maduro Guerra

One of Maduro’s sons, along with his mother Cilia, who was indicted along with her husband in New York on Monday, was also charged in 2020 with drug crimes related to the Cartel of the Suns.

Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, 35 years old, known in the country as Nicolasito or Little Nicolás, is currently the vice president of the legislature. He is also sometimes known as “The Prince” in the country.

According to the US indictment, the young Maduro associated with his father, other senior officials and “drug traffickers and narcoterrorist groups, who sent processed cocaine from Venezuela to the United States through transshipment points in the Caribbean and Central America.”