The General Who Can’t Be Fired Is Breaking Venezuela

Imagine a defense minister who promised for months that his military was ready for war — then watched as U.S. special forces flew into the capital, neutralized every air defense system, captured the president in under two hours, and left. Now imagine that minister still has his job. This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Venezuela affairs and Latin American financial news.

That is Venezuela today. General Vladimir Padrino López, defense minister since 2014, remains in charge despite arguably the most catastrophic security failure in Latin American history. Russian and Chinese air defense systems sat uncamouflaged. Command networks collapsed under electronic warfare before a single order could be given. Around 100 people died, including some 30 Cuban bodyguards protecting Maduro.

In most countries, the defense chief would have resigned by morning. In Venezuela, he posted a Telegram video urging calm. Senior officers are furious — not because they loved Maduro, but because Padrino’s nearly 12-year grip has blocked a generation of promotions while the institution rotted from within.

Why Padrino Still Stands

Why hasn’t he been fired? Because in Venezuela, the defense minister isn’t just a military appointment — he is the bridge between the armed forces and the ruling party. Padrino spent a decade turning the military into an explicitly political institution loyal not to the state but to chavismo. Removing him could shatter the fragile loyalty keeping soldiers following orders from a civilian government that never had a relationship with the barracks.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez understands this. She has quietly reshuffled 28 military positions — air base commanders, regional defense chiefs, National Guard units — but left Padrino and his top operational commander untouched. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, the regime’s most powerful hardliner, has been courting discontented officers himself, building a parallel base of military support.

Beneath the leadership drama, the picture is grimmer. Morale is at historic lows and retirement requests are surging across all ranks. Officers are leaving to take private security jobs with foreign oil companies — a remarkable indictment of an institution that once saw itself as the guardian of a socialist revolution.

This matters internationally because Venezuela‘s future will not be decided in Washington or at a negotiating table. It will be decided by a generation of colonels and brigadier generals running out of patience — with a command that failed them and a system that offers no way up and no way out.

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