The fall of General Padrino López deepens the dismantling of the 'madurismo'.

It has been the highest honor of my life to serve the homeland as a soldier, Major General Vladimir Padrino López said as he left his revolutionary seat at the Ministry of Defense.

“It has been the highest honor of my life to serve the homeland as a soldier, Major General Vladimir Padrino López said as he left his revolutionary seat at the Ministry of Defense”

El Mundo

A decade at the helm of the chavista general staff, that conglomerate of commanders with multimillion-dollar businesses and corrupt schemes that cemented Nicolás Maduro in power thanks to their military power.

El Mundo

The all-powerful general, however, was on loan in the post since his forces failed spectacularly against the U.S. operation to capture the dictator they defended so much.

Political sources confirmed to El Mundo that the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, demanded his resignation hours after the attack.

However, Padrino López then refused to resign, but it was only a matter of time, also tainted by rumors about his health.

El Mundo

With the fall of the general who stood just one rank below Maduro, the Rodríguez family, with their ally José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in Caracas (already back in Spain), have deepened the dismantling of the Maduro regime, something to which they have given themselves wholeheartedly.

The removal from office and subsequent detention of Colombian magnate Alex Saab has already materialized, the closure of several socialist missions invented by Cubans for Hugo Chávez, and the dismissal of the prosecutor Tarek William Saab, who has now become the head of the inconsequential program Mi Patria Querida, with which Delcy intends to give life to the soul and to the national being.

“It has been the highest honor of my life to serve the homeland as a soldier, Major General Vladimir Padrino López said as he left his revolutionary seat at the Ministry of Defense”

El Mundo

With January 3, Padrino suffered a loss of ascendancy and reputation within the institution; the departure was expected and logical.

He exits through the back door; there is nothing honorable, quite the opposite, says Carmen Beatriz Fernández, a consultant and specialist in cyberpolitics to El Mundo.

A king is dead; long live the king.

Major General Gustavo González López, Delcy's trusted military, has taken the helm with the same mission as his predecessor: to protect the president of the de facto government.

The former director of the chavista political police, who appears in all United Nations reports of human rights violations and torture and is also sanctioned by the U.S. (there is a $10 million reward on Padrino López), became since January 3 the chosen one by the Rodríguez family to ensure that what happened would not happen again.

El Mundo

For history, the photograph in which González López is seen talking with the CIA director John Ratcliffe during his hours of political visit to Caracas.

A change in a pivotal post that would not have occurred without the blessing of the United States.

From exile, the former chavista minister Andrés Izarra went even further: Only someone with a long track record of working with the CIA can assume that post in the protectorate (referring to the orders Washington gives Caracas).

A trusted actor, someone who has already proven their loyalty.

Payment for the favors received.

Rafael Uzcátegui, director of the Peace Laboratory, also believes that González López, 65 years old, arrives at the military leadership backed by his hard hand and willing to put order among the general staff, more than 2,000, almost as many as in NATO.

Maduro bought the support of the chavista generals by allowing them to participate in all kinds of corruption and dirty deals, including the Cartel de los Soles.

I also think that the appointment of González López is a signal for María Corina Machado not to return to the country, concludes Uzcátegui.

The democratic leader has said that she plans to return to Venezuela, something for which she does not have Washington's support.