Delcy Rodríguez opens Venezuela’s economy while retaining tight political control

Three weeks after U.S. forces whisked President Nicolás Maduro away from Caracas, his vice president and replacement, Delcy Rodríguez, has moved quickly to liberalize Venezuela’s economy while keeping the country’s repressive apparatus intact. Ms. Rodríguez has redirected oil exports from China toward the United States and funneled the first $300 million tranche from those sales into the banking system, a move that halted the national currency’s collapse and eased fears of hyperinflation.

She is rewriting laws to attract foreign investment and raise wages; economists are forecasting double‑digit growth, and stock, real estate and bond markets in Caracas have rallied as foreign investors scout for buying opportunities amid hints from the Trump administration that some U.S.

sanctions might be rolled back. In a televised address she said, “We are expecting that 2026 will be a better year.” At the same time, heavily armed security agents and military intelligence checkpoints have proliferated in Caracas, and rights groups say the government has released more than 200 political prisoners while hundreds remain jailed and new detainees have taken the places of some released prisoners, a process the opposition calls a “revolving door.” A former detainee, James Luckey‑Lange, said authorities were preparing releases even as they processed new arrivals, including a 17‑year‑old.

Key Topics

World, Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Oil Exports, Political Repression