[October 2025, Miami Herald] Venezuelan leaders offered U.S. a path to stay in power without Maduro [Reports VP Rodriguez and her brother were in talks with US to see a future without Maduro]

Submission Statement:

I was directed towards this article in the aftermath of current events, and found it astoundingly prescient. Being written 4 months ago, it reports siblings Delcy and Jorge Rodriguez (sitting VP and president of the National Assembly) were involved in talks in Qatar about transitions for Venezuela without Maduro, back when the US was offering Maduro exile in Turkey and other deals. It purports that the US was quite impressed by the Rodriguez siblings and their promise of a lighter-touch regime more open to US business. Some snippets:

> A group of senior Venezuelan government officials, led by Vice President Delcy Rodríguez and her brother Jorge, who is president of the National Assembly, have quietly promoted a series of initiatives in recent months aimed at presenting themselves to Washington as a “more acceptable” alternative to Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to people with direct knowledge of the talks. The proposals, funneled through intermediaries in Qatar, sought to persuade sectors of the U.S. government that a “Madurismo without Maduro” could enable a peaceful transition in Venezuela—preserving political stability without dismantling the ruling apparatus.

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> Qatar, which has close ties to the Venezuelan government and has been accused by U.S. officials of sheltering Venezuelan funds, played a key role as intermediary. All proposals were routed through its capital, Doha, where according to sources Delcy Rodríguez maintains “a significant relationship” with members of the Qatari royal family and hides part of her assets.

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> Some sectors in the Trump administration interpreted the overtures as part of an informal strategy that became known as ‘Cartel Lite:’ a softened version of chavismo designed to allow a managed transition without an abrupt rupture and without dismantling the regime’s core structures. The April proposal called for Maduro to step down, remain in Venezuelan with guarantees for his safety, and negotiate an arrangement granting U.S. companies access to Venezuelan oil and mining industries. In exchange, it suggested that U.S. prosecutors drop criminal charges against Maduro. Under that plan Delcy Rodriguez would assume the country’s presidency.

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> For many years, Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez have been central pillars of Venezuela’s ruling elite: he as president of the National Assembly and key strategist within the regime; she as executive vice president under Maduro. Behind their image as disciplined technocrats and heirs to the Chavez’s so-called Bolivarian project, however, persist longstanding allegations of involvement with the Cartel of the Suns—a network that, according to international agencies, operates within Venezuela’s armed forces and controls part of the cocaine trade through Caribbean and Atlantic routes.

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> According to a New York Times story on Wednesday, Trump authorized the agency to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. The secret authorization, known as a presidential finding, allows the CIA to carry out lethal operations and a range of covert actions in Venezuela and across the Caribbean. It is not known whether the CIA has already initiated operations under the new authority, which was approved in recent weeks. It also remains unclear whether the measure is intended as a contingency plan or if missions are actively being planned.