On Tuesday night, during his State of the Union (SOTU) address, Donald Trump called Venezuela's Delcy Rodríguez "the new president" of that country. This upset a lot of people. I saw many "this was just about oil" and "there will never been freedom and democracy there" statements on social media last night.
Do not buy into that.
Rodríguez, who was Nicolás Maduro's vice president, will never be the real president of Venezuela. She is currently the "acting president," and she's even that in name only. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are calling the shots. She knows what will happen to her if she doesn't follow orders. She is just as corrupt as Maduro, if not more so, and she's doing what she has to do to save herself. If Trump truly cares about issues like drug trafficking, keeping our adversaries out of the Western Hemisphere, and illegal immigration — and he does — leaving her as "president" would be like sending Maduro right back.
When Trump says things like this, it is not an endorsement. It's strategy. It's his classic deal-making pragmatism at work. It just so happens that in this case, the deal is "you do what I say, and maybe one day we'll let you escape to some nice little place across the Atlantic when a real election is held and a real leader takes your place." He's not going to stabilize that country and the energy sector by acting otherwise.
The real proof of progress in Venezuela and what our president wants for the world in general was not found in his rhetoric about Delcy Rodríguez. It was found in another moment, the moment when he reunited a newly released Venezuelan political prisoner with his niece, who thought she'd never see him again.
Enrique Márquez, a longtime Chavismo opponent, ran for president during Venezuela's 2024 elections. He, along with the real president-elect, Edmundo González, boldly refused to sign off on Maduro's fraudulent election victory in front of the dictator himself. In January 2025, Enrique, along with several other opposition leaders, was arrested and essentially disappeared. He was left in an isolated cell in the country's notorious El Helicoide torture center with no lawyer, no contact with his family, and no trial for a year.
However, in January, as the regime began releasing political prisoners at Trump's demand, Enrique was finally freed. Last night, during the SOTU, Trump reunited him with his beloved niece.
"With us tonight is Alejandra Gonzalez. She grew up in a tight-knit Venezuelan family and was especially close to her beloved uncle, Enrique," the president began. "But after Enrique ran for office and opposed Maduro, he was kidnapped by Maduro's security forces and thrown into the regime's really infamous prison in Caracas. Alejandra feared she would never see her uncle again. She feared for her own life also."
He continued, "But since the raid, we have worked with the new leadership, and they have ordered the closure of that vile prison and released hundreds of political prisoners already, with more to come. Alejandra, I'm pleased to inform you that not only has your uncle been released, but he is here tonight! We brought him over to celebrate his freedom with you in person."
CHILLS: @POTUS reunites Venezuelan woman Alejandra Gonzalez with her uncle, Enrique, who was arrested and held prisoner for years by the Maduro regime in Venezuela. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/K1Hg9M0MfR
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 25, 2026
Enrique Márquez, invitado por el presidente Trump a su discurso del Estado de la Unión, para que se pueda reencontrar con su familia en Estados Unidos. pic.twitter.com/7MY09k0r2A
— Orlando Avendaño (@OrlvndoA) February 25, 2026
It's a story I see far too often. Millions of Venezuelans fled the country during the Maduro years. They're displaced all over the world, separated from their families because they feared for their lives. Many were journalists or people who got involved with opposition politics. They can't hug their siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Their parents and grandparents have gotten sick and died while they were thousands of miles away. They fear daily for the lives of their friends and loved ones who are detained in torture centers — most of them political prisoners who merely chose to use their voice to oppose tyranny.
The fact that the president and his team chose this moment for the world to see is not lost on me. It's much more symbolic than anything Trump has said or will continue to say about Delcy.
This was proof that Venezuela will be free, and that has already started. It feels slow, but I think it's actually happening faster than anyone imagined — the fake news media just isn't reporting on it as such.
Not only did this moment give hope to the millions of Venezuelans living all over the world, but it also gave hope to the Cuban dissidents. It gave hope to the Iranians. It gave hope to the Nicaraguans. It gave hope to every single person in this world who lives under oppression — hope that, when a true, compassionate leader like Trump is the most powerful man in the world, tyrants can and will fall, countries can and will be free, political prisons can and will empty, and families can and will be reunited.
Related: The Venezuelan Media Obviously Forgot to Read the Huffington Post
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