Maduro Puts Key Allies in Oil, Interior Ministries After Vote

(Bloomberg) — President Nicolás Maduro appointed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s new oil minister and put Diosdado Cabello in charge of the joint interior and justice ministry, promoting key allies after a disputed election.  
The move also sees Hector Obregón step in as the new head of state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, replacing Pedro Tellechea, who will become industry minister, Maduro announced Tuesday on state television. 
Anabel Pereira was named finance minister.
“Today Venezuela heads down a path of peace,” Maduro said. “Where people feel that those who have acted against the law and the constitution, are faced with opportune, fair and timely justice.”
The shakeup comes one month after Venezuela’s presidential vote, in which the electoral authority declared that Maduro was reelected for a third consecutive term. The results have been contested by the opposition, while some Maduro allies — including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro — have urged the government to publish the complete voting tallies.
In addition to the oil portfolio, Rodríguez will continue on as vice president. The 55-year-old is one of Maduro’s closest allies, rising through the ranks in roles such as information and foreign minister, to become the government’s second-most powerful official. 
Her new appointment as oil minister sets her firmly atop the linchpin of Venezuela’s economy, as the nation’s recovery hinges on the speed at which it can boost oil production. Maduro has reiterated a production goal for PDVSA of 1.2 million barrels a day that has yet to be reached. 
Earlier this month, a leak from a broken oil pipeline from the El Palito refinery spilled into Venezuela’s Caribbean Sea, affecting 28 miles of coastline. The spill occurred after a pipeline feeding into a power station broke, leaking into a stream that leads to the sea.
Cabello, a top Socialist Party leader and close Maduro ally, will step into the interior and justice post for a second time after having served under the late Hugo Chávez in the early 2000s. 
Pereira, Maduro’s newly appointed finance minister, had been running Venezuela’s crypto superintendency after its former head was arrested in connection with a large scale corruption scheme in 2023. She also led a state agency backing the nation’s bank deposits known as Fogade.
Among other changes, Maduro named Miranda state Governor Héctor Rodríguez as education minister. 
(Updates throughout with more cabinet appointments.)
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