Author: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform 12 JAN 2026
In a message to supporters and the nation, Vice President and Acting President Delcy Rodríguez emphasized that internal cohesion is crucial in tackling the current crisis. She warned that in the context of a strategy to rescue the hostages –President Nicolás Maduro and First Combatant Cilia Flores– and maintain peace, certain tactical actions might raise doubts, but she urged trust in the high command, indicating they are dealing with an opponent that “does not operate within human rationality.” The division, she insisted, is the primary risk and ultimate goal of the aggressor forces.
This call was made during a meeting of communicators organized by the Ministry of People’s Power for Communication and Information and was published by Presidential Press.
In her speech, the temporarily highest executive authority outlined the roadmap of the Bolivarian government in the face of what she termed a “savage and unprecedented criminal aggression in our history.” She highlighted that, while an attack was anticipated, no one imagined crossing the “purple line”: the bombing of a South American capital, the very place where Liberator Simón Bolívar was born.
Faced with this openly unequal confrontation –“we are confronting a nuclear power”– Rodríguez set forth three clear and non-negotiable strategic objectives guiding every decision: 1) Preserve the peace of the Republic; 2) Rescue the hostages, referring to President Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores; and 3) Maintain the political power of the Bolivarian revolution, ensuring it for the people and the historically excluded.
Strategy Against the Enemy’s Irrationality
She argued that the nature of the ongoing actions must be understood in light of the type of adversary they are facing. “We are not confronting an opponent that can be understood within human rationality,” she asserted, describing it as a being committed to its moral integrity and engaged in permanent blackmail. Against this irrationality and immorality, the response must be one of “strategic patience and prudence.”
In this context, a direct warning to supporters was made: “Sometimes tactical steps are taken which may appear to be incomprehensible actions.” The acting president urged interpreting these decisions not as a lack of direction, but as calculated moves within a broader strategy, necessitated by the need to maneuver against an unpredictable and savage enemy, always prioritizing the rescue of Maduro and Flores.
Unity: The Decisive Battleground
The core of the message was an urgent call to unite. “The enemy’s great victory would be division,” she declared, elevating national unity to a matter of strategic security. She reiterated that although the military battle is unequal, they possess a “moral and historical superiority” that must translate into a “victorious resistance.”
She concluded by imploring the people and the revolution to march “as one fist,” trusting that the political leadership acts with loyalty and with the clear objectives established precisely for a scenario like the current one. Cohesion, she emphasized, is not only an ideal but also the necessary condition for recovering the kidnapped leaders and securing the future of the country.