Venezuela’s interim leadership has moved to overhaul the country’s military command, announcing sweeping changes at the top of the armed forces just a day after naming a new defence minister.
Interim leader Delcy Rodríguez confirmed the reshuffle on Thursday, saying the appointments were aimed at safeguarding Venezuela’s “sovereignty, peace, stability and territorial integrity”.
The changes come in the wake of the early January operation by US President Donald Trump that led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
Since that incident, Rodríguez has taken steps to distance her administration from Maduro’s era while opening cooperation channels with Washington. The two countries restored diplomatic ties at the beginning of March, marking a shift in relations.
The latest changes affect key branches of the military. Rodríguez named Dilio Alejandro Agüero Montes as the new navy commander, Royman Antonio Hernández Briceño to lead the air force, and Rubén Darío Belzares Escobar as the army commander.
The shake-up follows a broader cabinet reorganisation announced on Wednesday, where Rodríguez removed long-serving defence minister Vladimir Padrino López, a close ally of Maduro. In a message posted on Telegram, she named Gustavo González López as his replacement and thanked Padrino for his service and “loyalty to the country”.
Rights group Provea criticised the appointment, describing it as a “recycling of impunity”.
Padrino, who had held the defence docket for 12 years and was seen as a key pillar of Maduro’s administration, responded to his removal by saying it had been “the highest honour of my life to serve my country as a soldier and to protect peace and national unity during all these years”.
He also congratulated González López on taking over the role, noting their long-standing relationship and expressing confidence that the armed forces would “emerge stronger” under his leadership.
González López previously led Venezuela’s intelligence agency, Sebin, serving two separate terms between 2014 and 2018 and again from 2019 to 2024.
However, his appointment has drawn concern from international observers. In an interview with BBC Mundo, Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas division at Human Rights Watch, said appointing him as defence minister “means keeping the repressive structure intact and rewarding someone who should be investigated for very serious human rights violations, including torture or arbitrary detentions”.
González López has also faced sanctions from the United States. In 2015, then US President Barack Obama imposed measures against him, with the White House alleging he was “responsible for or complicit in ... significant acts of violence or conduct that constitutes a serious abuse or violation of human rights”.
Officials at the time cited his leadership role at Sebin, accusing the agency of carrying out widespread crackdowns during protests, including forced entries into homes and unlawful detentions.
Despite the criticism, Rodríguez defended her choice, expressing confidence in González López’s ability to lead the defence ministry.