Maduro with Diosdado Cabello (File photo: AP)

With Nicolás Maduro in US custody and Washington openly shaping Venezuela’s transition, the Trump administration's attention has now shifted to to the man many analysts say has long wielded real power behind the scenes: interior minister Diosdado Cabello.

Named second in a sweeping US indictment and controlling the country’s internal security forces, Cabello now stands at the centre of a high-stakes struggle between survival, loyalty and confrontation with the Trump administration, Reuters reported.Calling Maduro’s capture a “criminal, terrorist attack”, Cabello urged Venezuelans to remain calm and trust the country’s leadership. Hours later, Washington unsealed a superseding indictment against Maduro on drug trafficking charges.

Cabello’s name appeared directly beneath it. With Maduro now in US custody, Cabello has emerged as the most powerful Venezuelan figure still on the ground – and potentially the Trump administration’s next problem.

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The enforcer at the heart of Chavismo

Cabello, 62, is one of the last surviving pillars of Hugo Chávez’s inner circle. A former army officer, he took part in Chávez’s failed 1992 coup attempt and later helped build the political movement that reshaped Venezuela.

He briefly served as president during the chaotic 2002 coup against Chávez and went on to hold some of the most powerful posts in the state.Since his appointment as interior minister in 2024, Cabello has controlled the police, intelligence agencies and armed civilian groups known as colectivos. Rights organisations and a UN fact-finding mission have accused him of overseeing systematic repression, including arbitrary arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.

The colectivos under his influence have long enforced government authority in urban neighbourhoods and, since Maduro’s capture, have been deployed to patrol streets and man checkpoints.

Washington’s warning – and its dilemma

According to Reuters, the Trump administration has privately warned Cabello that defiance could leave him facing the same fate as Maduro, who was charged with “narco-terrorism” after years of US indictments. US officials fear Cabello could sabotage a fragile transition, particularly given his long rivalry with Rodríguez and his hardline ideology.At the same time, Washington appears to be relying on him – for now. Secretary of state Marco Rubio has outlined a three-stage plan focused on stabilisation, reopening Venezuela’s oil sector to Western firms, and eventually transitioning to new elections. That plan depends on Cabello keeping order, even as the US looks for ways to sideline him.Cabello has responded by projecting strength. Social media videos show him inspecting armed units, shaking hands with shopkeepers and declaring that Caracas remains “calm and tranquil”, while armed men chant slogans pledging loyalty and warning against betrayal.Cabello has been sanctioned by the US since 2018 and indicted on drug trafficking charges, with a bounty now standing at $25 million. He denies the allegations, calling them a fabrication designed to justify American aggression against Venezuela and its oil reserves.