{"id":44279,"date":"2026-01-08T02:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T02:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/venezuelas-interim-leader-sacks-man-in-charge-of-maduros-guard\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T02:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T02:00:37","slug":"venezuelas-interim-leader-sacks-man-in-charge-of-maduros-guard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/venezuelas-interim-leader-sacks-man-in-charge-of-maduros-guard\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela&#8217;s interim leader sacks man in charge of Maduro&#8217;s guard"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"\">\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-component=\"byline-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<div data-testid=\"byline\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-0 bWRWzH\"><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-11 cOQNNv\"><\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"byline-contributors-contributor-0\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-5 gXJgDY\">\n<p><span class=\"sc-573fa0e8-7 gqeTMs\">Vanessa Buschschl\u00fcter<\/span><span data-testid=\"byline-contributors-contributor-0-role-location\" class=\"sc-573fa0e8-8 bIfajQ\">Latin America online editor<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 gtLOOD\">\n<div data-testid=\"hero-image\" class=\"sc-5340b511-1 cMIbKV\"><img decoding=\"async\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 240w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 320w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 480w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 640w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 1024w,https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1536\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp 1536w\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/e5ff\/live\/b9153440-ebe8-11f0-b385-5f48925de19a.jpg.webp\" loading=\"eager\" alt=\"REDI Javier Marcano T\u00e1bata stands in front of a flag. He is uniform and looks at the camera.\" class=\"sc-5340b511-0 hLdNfA\"\/><span class=\"sc-5340b511-2 jVqbAn\">REDI<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 gnQokQ\">Javier Marcano T\u00e1bata was the commander of the presidential honour guard<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The general in command of Venezuela&#8217;s presidential honour guard, Javier Marcano T\u00e1bata, has been sacked days after Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro was seized by US forces in a raid in Caracas and taken to New York to stand trial on narco-terrorism charges. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The presidential honour guard is the military force which provides the bodyguards tasked with protecting the head of state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">While the Venezuelan government has not yet provided a detailed breakdown of casualties, members of the guard are thought to be among the dozens of people killed in the US operation to seize Maduro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The order to replace Gen Marcano T\u00e1bata was issued by the new interim president, Delcy Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Rodr\u00edguez was sworn in by the National Assembly, which is dominated by government loyalists, on Monday. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">She served as Maduro&#8217;s vice-president and is considered to be a close ally of the jailed leader. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">US President Donald Trump said in the news conference following Maduro&#8217;s seizure that the US would &#8220;run&#8221; Venezuela and that it was talking to Rodr\u00edguez.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">He also threatened that Rodr\u00edguez would face a &#8220;fate worse than Maduro&#8217;s&#8221; if she did not comply with US demands, including those for oil, of which Venezuela has the world&#8217;s largest proven reserves. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">On Tuesday, <a target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/c4grxzxjjd8o\" class=\"sc-f9178328-0 iCaRzc\">the US president said that Venezuela would be &#8220;turning over&#8221; up to 50 million barrels of oil to the US<\/a>, but Venezuela&#8217;s interim government has yet to comment on that statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Rodr\u00edguez&#8217;s tone has been alternating between defiant and conciliatory since she was designated interim president by Venezuela&#8217;s Supreme Court. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">She denounced the seizure of Maduro as an &#8220;illegal kidnapping&#8221; but has also said that her government had &#8220;invited the US government to work together on an agenda of co-operation&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Her actions are being watched closely both inside and outside of Venezuela to gauge what course she may steer now that she is in charge of the country and for signs of any potential rifts in her government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The sacking of Gen Marcano T\u00e1bata is one of the first changes to senior officials in her inner circle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">As well as being in charge of the presidential guard, Gen Marcano T\u00e1bata also led Venezuela&#8217;s military counterintelligence unit DGCIM. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The DGCIM has played a key role in the repression of people critical of the Maduro government, according to the United Nations. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">A UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission found that the counter-intelligence unit had committed myriad human rights violations since 2013. <\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">It documented scores of cases in which those detained were subjected to &#8220;torture, sexual violence and\/or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment&#8221; in the DGCIM headquarters and a network of covert detention centres across the country<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">However, his sacking does not appear to be related to the repression carried out by the DGCIM under his helm as the man she has appointed to succeed him headed an intelligence service which faces similar accusations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Gustavo Gonz\u00e1lez L\u00f3pez was in charge of Venezuela&#8217;s national intelligence service, Sebin for many years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The Sebin controls the notorious Helicoide prison in Caracas, where the UN documented abuses being carried out against &#8220;opposition politicians, journalists, protesters, and human rights defenders&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Venezuelan analysts say Gen Marcano T\u00e1bata&#8217;s dismissal is more likely to be related to the failure of the presidential honour guard to prevent the seizure of Maduro.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela which has long provided security and intelligence services to Maduro, said that 32 of its nationals had been killed in the US raid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Many of them are thought to have been embedded in the presidential honour guard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><figcaption class=\"sc-536eff7b-0 gnQokQ\">Watch: What&#8217;s at the heart of Cuba and Venezuela&#8217;s relationship?<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"sc-3b6b161a-0 dPVOKT\">\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Venezuela&#8217;s military has said that 23 of its members, including five generals, were killed in the US strikes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Some supporters of the government have said they felt &#8220;humiliated&#8221; by the way the US forces overpowered Venezuela&#8217;s defence systems and Maduro&#8217;s personal guard to seize the Venezuelan leader, who was later paraded before the cameras in prison garb with his hands tied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Replacing Gen Marcano T\u00e1bata could be an attempt by the interim president to surround herself with people she trusts at a time when the threat of another US strike hangs over her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Trump said on Saturday that US forces had prepared a second wave of strikes but deemed it not necessary at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">However, he has repeatedly said that non-compliance would mean Rodr\u00edguez would &#8220;pay a very big price&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">She is not the only one in the interim government who could be targeted in a second strike.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">Venezuela&#8217;s hardline interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, had been told by the Trump administration to fall into line, news agency Reuters reports, quoting unnamed sources said to be familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">The US has long accused Cabello of participating in a &#8220;narco-conspiracy&#8221;, allegedly helping left-wing rebels ship cocaine to the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-9a00e533-0 eZyhnA\">In January, the US state department increased its reward for information leading to his capture to $25m (\u00a321m).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c8e5d9j66l0o?at_medium=RSS&#038;at_campaign=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vanessa Buschschl\u00fcterLatin America online editor REDI Javier Marcano T\u00e1bata was the commander of the presidential honour guard The general in command of Venezuela&#8217;s presidential honour guard, Javier Marcano T\u00e1bata, has been sacked days after Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro was seized by US forces in a raid in Caracas and taken to New York to stand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44281,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44279\/revisions\/44281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.godj.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}