Conspiracy theories: Why did Maduro fall so quickly?
Delcy and Jorge Rodríguez have been in secretive talks with Washington for months, The Telegraph suggested
Rumors, speculation, and conspiracy theories of all kinds are surfacing about who betrayed former Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro so that US troops could abduct him from Caracas and make him stand trial in New York.
One of the hypotheses is the so-called Doha Pact. According to London’s The Telegraph, Maduro’s Jan. 3 capture was the culmination of a secret deal brokered in Doha, Qatar, between high-ranking Chavista leaders, who negotiated the handover to preserve their own political standing.
The report identifies siblings Delcy Rodríguez (now caretaker President) and Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez as the primary agents, who met with US envoys in Qatar as early as April and September of 2025. They allegedly proposed a transition that would leave the Chavista state apparatus intact while removing Maduro from power. In exchange, they would offer Washington full access to Venezuela’s oil and mining industries.
Observers highlighted the lightning-fast nature of the US raid and the minimal resistance as evidence that the military high command may have stood down as part of this unwritten understanding.
While Maduro remains in US custody in New York, Argentine Federal Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli has formally requested his extradition to Buenos Aires to stand trial for crimes against humanity under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for the prosecution of grave human rights violations regardless of where they were committed. The motion stems from a 2024 case filed by the Argentine Forum for the Defense of Democracy (FADD), citing a systematic plan of repression, torture, and forced disappearances carried out by the Maduro regime since 2014. The FADD and Stornelli argue that the extradition is urgent to ensure he answers for the specific victims of his regime in the Southern Cone.
From aboard Air Force One, US President Donald Trump noted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in contact with Delcy Rodríguez, describing her as willing to do what is necessary to reform the country. If she does not comply with US demands —including the expulsion of Iranian and Russian interests— she could face a bigger price than her predecessor.
Additionally, US Attorney General Pam Bondi has stated that Maduro will face the full wrath of American justice in US courts. Legal experts suggest the US was unlikely to grant Argentina’s extradition request in the near term, as the 2020 narco-terrorism indictment carries a higher priority for Washington.
Maduro’s legal team, led by Barry Pollack, is expected to argue that their client is a sovereign head of state and thus immune from prosecution, which the US State Department has already rejected on the grounds that Washington did not recognize him as the legitimate president at the time of his capture after tampering with the 2024 elections.
The Rodríguez’s father —-Jorge Antonio Rodríguez demand—- was a Marxist guerrilla leader who died in 1976 while in police custody for the kidnapping of an American businessman. Delcy has famously said, The revolution is our revenge for the death of our father. This background granted them untouchable status within the Chavista ranks.
At 56, the new Interim President is a French-educated lawyer who has earned the nickname The Tsarina for her control over the economy. As Vice President and Oil Minister, she moved away from pure socialism toward orthodox economic policies (cutting spending, fixing the exchange rate) to halt hyperinflation. This pragmatism is why The Telegraph suggests the US sees her as a viable interlocutor.
Despite her designer clothes and diplomatic polish, she oversaw SEBIN (the intelligence service), leading to her being sanctioned by the EU and the US for human rights violations.
Jorge Rodríguez —a psychiatrist by trade— is considered the regime’s master negotiator. He has been the face of almost every dialogue with the opposition and the US over the last five years. His deep connections in Qatar and his ability to speak the language of Washington made him the logical choice to broker the terms of Maduro’s removal.
