Every morning in London, Delcy Rodriguez – Nicolás Maduro‘s vice president – would pick up her tube of toothpaste and berate it as a ‘capitalist product.’
The ritual, recalled by former US diplomat Brett Bruen, captures the hardline ideology of the woman President Donald Trump has effectively left overseeing Venezuela’s transition in the aftermath of the ouster of Maduro.
Bruen, who served at the US Embassy in Caracas, calls Rodríguez a ‘rabid Chavista’ and a ‘tried and true socialist,’ and warns that the administration’s approach is turning a military victory into a political farce.
‘From a strategic standpoint, that’s astonishingly stupid, even for him,’ Bruen said of Trump’s vow that the United States will ‘run Venezuela.’
But the toothpaste anecdote is only the surface of a deeper rift.
Trump’s decision to sideline Venezuela’s democratic opposition leaders, María Corina Machado and Edmundo González, has opened a sharp split with influential Republicans and the Venezuelan-American community, many of whom regard Machado as the country’s legitimate leader.
Some of Trump’s closest allies are now openly breaking ranks. Representative Carlos Gimenez, a staunch Trump supporter and a powerful voice in Miami’s exile community, told the Daily Mail that on Machado, the President is simply wrong.
Venezuela’s parliament swore in Delcy Rodriguez as interim president on January 5, two days after US forces seized her predecessor Nicolas Maduro to face trial in New York
Maduro participates in a cabinet meeting at Miraflores Palace two months before his arrest
Aerial view of the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas
‘The community is not divided on her. I think the community is solid behind her,’ Gimenez stated.
While Gimenez praised Trump for the ‘bold action’ of the operation itself, he admitted there is a disconnect regarding the country’s future leadership.
‘The President is my president… but my assessment and his are different,’ Gimenez said.
The Florida congressman confirmed he spoke with Machado shortly after the apprehension of Maduro. He described her demeanor during the call as ‘statesman-like,’ adding that she didn’t bring up any theories on why Trump won’t back her.
Gimenez argued that Machado’s legitimacy is undeniable, noting that she backed Edmundo González in the recent elections—who won by 70 percent—only because she was illegally barred from running.
‘If you had an election tomorrow, I bet pretty good money that Maria Corina Machado would win,’ Gimenez asserted.
The congressman hopes to ‘bring Trump around,’ questioning who has been feeding the President negative information about the opposition leader. ‘I don’t know who told him this… I just don’t think it’s correct,’ he added.
Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar, another Cuban representing South Florida, echoes the same sentiment, telling the Daily Mail that Machado is the ‘moral force’ of Venezuela’s democratic movement.
‘I am hopeful that we will take the necessary steps to ensure that either, the 2024 election results are respected, or, that a new election will take place where María Corina is on the ballot,’ Salazar explained.
But a diplomat very familiar with South America who asked to remain anonymous told the Daily Mail that Machado can be ‘difficult.’
‘She’s completely stalwart… She believes what she believes. If you share her views, then you are a pretty smart guy, and if you differ in any respect, then she didn’t have a chance for you,’ a diplomat very familiar with South America told the Daily Mail.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures as she votes during the presidential election, in Caracas on July 28, 2024
Maduro onboard the USS Iwo Jima after the US military captured him on January 3, 2026
Captured Venezuelan leader Maduro says ‘happy new year’ as he is led to US jail
Gimenez told the Daily Mail he was among the first to learn of the raid, waking to a 4.30am call back from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and an emphatic message: ‘We got him.’
But with Trump declaring he will ‘run’ the country and some of his own party pushing back on who should lead it, what some diplomats call the ‘sugar high’ of the operation is fading fast.
As Bruen warns: ‘We’ve seen this movie before in Iraq and certainly in Afghanistan.’
Kevin Whitaker, a career diplomat who served as the US Ambassador to Colombia and previously as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Venezuela, suggested the administration might be keeping the ‘corrupt, illegitimate’ regime elements in place temporarily simply to maintain order while they figure out the next step.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives for a briefing with top lawmakers at the Capitol after President Trump ordered US forces to capture Maduro during a weekend raid in Caracas
Trump, flanked by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Rubio, observes the arrest of Maduro during Operation Absolute Resolve
Demonstrators hold flags depicting Che Guevara and Simon Bolivar during a march outside the National Assembly the day Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president
As of now, the national security team appointed to lead the effort in Venezuela includes Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, General Caine, Director Ratcliffe and Deputy Chief of Staff Miller.
Rick Grenell, who was the unofficial Maduro negotiator, will reportedly not be involved moving forward.
A senior administration official also tells the Daily Mail that they do not plan to appoint a full-time envoy to help Rubio out on Venezuela.
