Venezuela dismisses Vladimir Padrino Lopez as defense minister

Venezuela announced Wednesday the removal of Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who has served as Defense Minister for more than a decade, in a major shake-up of the military hierarchy.

He is to be replaced by Gen. Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez.

The announcement was made via social media by interim President Delcy Rodriguez. The leadership transition comes two months after President Nicolas Maduro was captured during a US military operation in Caracas on Jan. 3.

"We thank General Vladimir Padrino López for his dedication and his loyalty to the homeland," Rodriguez wrote, adding that the government remains confident in his ability to assume "new responsibilities."

Lopez was the first member of Maduro's inner circle to denounce the recent wave of US missile and rocket strikes launched against sectors in Caracas and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

Describing the offensive as an "invasion" fueled by "greed for Venezuela's strategic resources," Padrino emerged as the primary voice calling for military unity.

Gonzalez Lopez takes the helm of a military heavily targeted by Washington. Like his predecessor, Gonzalez Lopez has long been a target of the US Treasury Department.

In 2019, Padrino was charged with cocaine trafficking in a US federal court, and in 2020, the first Trump administration placed a $15 million bounty on Maduro and high-ranking officials, including Padrino, for alleged narco-terrorism.

Padrino has consistently dismissed the charges as "crude fabrications" designed to aid US electoral campaigns.