Venezuela has dismissed the commander of its presidential honour guard, General Javier Marcano Tábata, days after US forces seized former leader Nicolás Maduro in a dramatic raid in Caracas and transferred him to New York to face narco-terrorism charges.
The decision was taken by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in earlier this week by the National Assembly. Gen Marcano Tábata headed the elite military unit responsible for the personal security of the head of state and also led Venezuela’s powerful military counterintelligence agency, the DGCIM.
Although the Venezuelan authorities have not released official casualty figures from the US operation, members of the presidential guard are believed to be among the dozens killed during the raid.
President Rodríguez, a long-time ally of Maduro and his former vice-president, has described the US action as an “illegal kidnapping.” However, she has also signalled a willingness to engage Washington, saying her government has invited the United States to cooperate on a new agenda.
US President Donald Trump, speaking after the seizure, said the United States would effectively “run” Venezuela and warned Rodríguez that she could face “a fate worse than Maduro’s” if she failed to comply with US demands, including those linked to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. He later claimed Venezuela would hand over up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US—an assertion the interim government has yet to confirm.
The removal of Gen Marcano Tábata marks one of Rodríguez’s first major changes within her inner circle. His dismissal does not appear to be directly linked to human rights concerns, despite longstanding accusations against the DGCIM. A United Nations fact-finding mission has previously accused the agency of widespread abuses, including torture and sexual violence.
His successor, Gustavo González López, is himself a controversial figure, having previously led the national intelligence service SEBIN, which oversees the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas—another facility cited by the UN for serious human rights violations.
Rodríguez’s early decisions are being closely watched both domestically and internationally, as Venezuela navigates an uncertain political future following Maduro’s arrest and growing US pressure.
