Venezuela’s Minister of Interior Diosdado Cabello delivers a speech during a women’s rally in support of ousted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas on Jan. 6, 2026. FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images BOGOTA, Colombia — The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. special forces has raised hopes of a democratic opening in the South American country. But so far, there’s been no “Venezuelan Spring.” That’s, in part, because Diosdado Cabello, Maduro’s most hardline enforcer, remains in power under interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who took over following Maduro’s capture by U.S. forces. In the hours after the U.S. operation, Cabello, who is Venezuela’s Interior Minister, appeared on the streets in Caracas wearing a helmet and flak jacket. He condemned the U.S. operation as a “cowardly attack” and urged Venezuelans not to cooperate with what he called a “terrorist enemy.” Standing alongside armed security forces, Cabello called on supporters to mobilize to defend Venezuela’s sovereignty and warned opponents that those perceived …