Venezuela’s Security State Hardens as Sanctions Relief Lifts Oil Hopes

Politics, Geopolitics & Conflict Trump’s “51st state” comment on Venezuela comes as the country’s power structure is being reset in a way that looks controlled, not transformed. Delcy Rodríguez has replaced longtime defense chief Vladimir Padrino López with Gustavo González López, an intelligence figure tied directly to internal security. This is more of a tightening of control over the military and surveillance apparatus at a critical time when anything could shake it. At the same time, Venezuela’s…