Venezuela's Ruling Party Fractures Publicly as Rodríguez Shifts Away From Chávez-Era Policies

Venezuela's ruling Chavismo movement experienced its most visible public fracture in 27 years on June 1, 2026, as internal divisions exploded into the open over Acting President Delcy Rodríguez's political and economic normalization with Washington. The immediate triggers were the May 17 deportation of Alex Saab to the United States — the first extradition of a senior chavista official to American courts — and the May 23 US Marines Osprey exercise authorized to fly directly over Caracas. Chavista hardliner Mario Silva publicly accused Rodríguez of governing under the direction of the US Embassy, arguing she had abandoned the revolution's anti-imperialist foundations. The fracture pits Rodríguez and her brother National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez on the pragmatic civilian side against Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello — who himself faces unresolved US narco-terrorism charges — on the hardliner military side. Cabello has maintained his government post despite the ongoing DOJ indictment, creating a peculiar dynamic in which the US-backed transitional government retains officials targeted by US federal prosecutors. Analysts noted the fracture is the deepest and most public split within Chavismo since the movement's founding, and could complicate Rodríguez's ability to sustain the political transition while managing competing factions inside the state apparatus.