Francisco Santos claims Delcy Rodríguez handed over Nicolás Maduro to the United States in Venezuela

In the hours after Nicolás Maduro was captured during a dramatic US military operation in Caracas, a new and explosive claim has reshaped the story.

Francisco Santos, Colombia’s former vice-president, says the Venezuelan leader wasn’t seized by force alone.

According to him, Maduro was betrayed from within his own inner circle.

“They Didn’t Take Him — They Were Given Him”

Speaking on Colombian cable news channel NTN24, Santos flatly rejected the idea that Washington pulled off a daring extraction on its own.

In his telling, the US didn’t remove Maduro at all — someone handed him over.

Santos said he is “absolutely certain” that Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s long-time ally and second-in-command, was the person who made that decision.

As fragments of intelligence and political signals are pieced together, he argues, a clear picture emerges: this was a managed handover, not a smash-and-grab mission.

Why Delcy Rodríguez Is at the Center of the Storm

Rodríguez is due to be formally sworn in tomorrow as Venezuela’s interim leader, a move that has only intensified speculation.

President Donald Trump has publicly suggested she could play a role in overseeing Venezuela’s transition, even as she publicly calls for Maduro’s release and insists the country will “never be anyone’s colony.”

To Santos, those contradictions are not accidental.

He believes Rodríguez is carefully positioning herself — projecting defiance while quietly carving out room to survive politically under US pressure.

Trump’s Calculated Playbook

Santos described Trump’s approach as blunt but practical.

In his view, the US president made three core decisions: remove Maduro from the equation, install a transitional figure from within the existing power structure, and secure economic upside — particularly through oil.

Rather than tearing the system down entirely, Washington appears to be working with what it sees as the least risky option available.

“The Least Bad Option”

That phrase came up repeatedly in Santos’ analysis.

Drawing comparisons with the chaos that followed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, he said Washington is keen to avoid repeating past mistakes.

Using the nickname “Padrino” — Spanish for “Godfather” — Santos ranked the regime’s power brokers by what he bluntly called levels of criminality.

If figures like Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello represent the worst of the system, then Rodríguez, in his view, sits only slightly below them — but still closer to control than collapse.

Who Is Delcy Rodríguez?

Rodríguez, 56, is a trained lawyer with postgraduate studies in Paris and at Birkbeck College in London.

She is the daughter of a left-wing political activist who died in police custody in 1976, a personal history that has long shaped her political identity.

Before becoming vice-president in 2018, she served as Venezuela’s first female foreign minister, building a reputation as a tough and disciplined operator on the international stage.

Defiance on the Surface, Pressure Behind the Scenes

Despite Trump’s warning that regime figures could face further US military action if they refuse to cooperate, Rodríguez has gone on the offensive publicly.

She has accused the United States of kidnapping Maduro and demanded his immediate release from a New York prison, along with his wife, Cilia Flores.

In a fiery statement, she warned that “history and justice” would hold those responsible for the attack on Venezuela to account.

What Comes Next?

With Maduro behind bars, Rodríguez preparing to step into the spotlight, and Washington signaling both threats and cooperation, Venezuela now stands at a tense crossroads.

Whether this moment marks the start of a controlled transition — or the opening of a deeper power struggle — may soon become clear.

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