During Thursday’s cabinet meeting, Donald Trump mentioned that he’d spoken with his little Venezuelan pawn, “acting President” Delcy Rodríguez, and that the call had gone well. We later found out that they talked for a quite a while, at least half an hour, and that both Trump and Marco Rubio were on the phone.
The actions that have followed in the few days since sort of give you an idea of exactly how that phone call went down. I’m guessing Trump may have reminded her that there could easily be a “second wave.”
First of all, Ms. Delcy has dialed down her rhetoric. While she did issue a formal communiqué on Friday, condemning the United States for placing tariffs on anyone who gives Cuba oil — you can’t let the Chavista hardliners know you went full MAGA — she’s taken a break from her usual anti-U.S. speeches.
Even Diosdado Cabello, the second-most powerful man in the regime and the country’s “Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace,” which is a fancy way of saying the guy who handles the repression, torture, and paramilitary groups, is acting a bit more well-behaved in recent days. Then again, you probably would too if the U.S. had a $25 million bounty on your head.
This X post made me laugh. The caption reads “You put on the MAGA cap and yell: LONG LIVE TRUMP.” (That’s Cabello in the red tie — it’s even funnier if you know anything about this man.)
“Te pones la gorra MAGA y gritas: QUÉ VIVA TRUMP” pic.twitter.com/4BA2g6H3TI
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) February 1, 2026
But more importantly, beyond the rhetoric, or lack thereof, there’s a lot of action happening.
Also on Thursday, Rodríguez signed a reform bill overhauling the oil sector, reversing state control and opening it to privatization and foreign investment. As I mentioned last week, her brother, Jorge, was already talking about this publicly as if he was reading from a script Trump had given him, but it became official on Thursday.
Something else Trump mentioned at the cabinet meeting was that he told Rodríguez to open up the airspace over Venezuela, and she did. Commercial flights from the U.S. have not landed in Caracas since 2019. To me, that’s huge because it sets the stage for so many other first steps.
Something that is an even bigger deal is that on Friday, Rodríguez proposed a law that would grant amnesty to all political prisoners who were locked up from day one of the Hugo Chávez era. There is also talk of shutting down or repurposing El Helicoide, the country’s most notorious torture center.
Related: The Futuristic Shopping Mall That Became a ‘Torture Chamber’
For those of you following the political prisoner situation, at least 33 were released on Sunday, which is a big jump after a stagnant few days. According to Foro Penal, we’re up to 344 confirmed since January 8. One that’s going viral today is Luis Istúriz, who was locked away for 17 months. He’s a lawyer and regional leader of Vente Venezuela, María Corina Machado’s party, and he was charged with all sorts of ridiculous things simply for supporting the opposition.
His reunion with his two small children will bring tears to your eyes.
The Venezuelan opposition figure Luis Istúriz was held captive by Maduro’s regime for 17 months.
Today he was released, thanks to actions and pressure from President Trump, and he surprised his children—who couldn’t stop crying—: pic.twitter.com/6wJnmzJCJr
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) February 1, 2026
But there are still hundreds waiting, like this woman, who just wants to see her son again. You can read more about women like her here: “The Mothers of a Nation.”
A las afueras de El Helicoide, el mayor centro de tortura de Latinoamérica, retumba un grito que atraviesa al país entero: “Yo quiero ver a mi hijo”.
No descansaremos hasta que cada madre pueda volver a abrazar a su hijo y la libertad sea una realidad para todos.#QueSeanTodos pic.twitter.com/qUgNHW11CP
— Vente Joven (@VenteJoven) February 1, 2026
Something else that’s been happening is that Venezuelan people are finding that they can use the X social media platform again. The regime had blocked it August 2024, shortly after Nicolás Maduro stole the election. It was reactivated mid-January, and over the last few days, people are saying they can use it again, though some are still having issues.
So, if we’re paying attention to actions, not words, these are all great signs.
Machado on Face the Nation
Last but not least, I wanted to point out that Machado was on Face the Nation on Sunday morning, and I don’t know how Margaret Brennan is the host of that show. Every time I’m forced to watch, she asks the most idiotic questions. This time was no different. I swear, if Machado — the Venezuelan opposition leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize — was not friendly with Trump, the MSM would love her. Instead, they’re condescending toward her.
Brennan tried to ask Machado a lot of “gotcha” questions, but Machado is far more intelligent than the CBS anchor, so it didn’t exactly work, which often left Brennan looking flustered.
She asked why Trump has taken pressure off Delcy and the rest of the regime. Anyone with common sense can read between the lines and know that’s not true.
“I do not think that the pressure is being taken away. Actually, everything Delcy Rodriguez is currently doing is because she’s complying with instructions she’s getting from the United States, and important steps are being taken,” Machado answered. “So, I think that the message has been delivered, and, so far, we’re seeing the results in the actions taken by the regime and also in the mood and energy that is growing within the Venezuelan population.”
Brennan asked about a timeline for future free and fair elections, and Machado said there isn’t a specific one, but what is very clear to her is that what the opposition wants, what the Venezuelan people want, and what the U.S. government and Trump want is the same thing. Keep in mind, Machado is currently in Washington, D.C., and in contact with Trump and Rubio. She probably knows more than most.
So Brennan reframed her question. Do the Venezuelan people “have the patience to wait for what you’re talking about, which is basically just hoping that the Rodriguez government does what Donald Trump tells them to do?”
“Well, it’s more than hoping,” Machado replied. “We’re seeing the results, the actions.”
Brennan, who, again, is really just the dumbest person alive or really wants to stick it to Trump, then asked why the president opened up the skies for commercial airlines. She wanted to know if it’s safe to travel to Venezuela now and if that’s why he’s doing it now. (Apparently, she can’t look at the State Department website.)
How Machado didn’t roll her eyes at this, I’ll never know, but she explained that these “are signals directed to several actors, first and foremost to the regime, saying, this is going to move forward.”
Later, Brennan suggested that “the president of the United States stood up there and said to the public that, even though you had won that election, you didn’t have the public support.”
First, that’s not what he said. He never said “public support.” I just double checked the transcript of that speech. He was talking about the regime. Second, Machado should have dropped a mic and walked away after her answer:
I will concentrate in what he told me in a private conversation, looking each other in the eyes.
And I truly believe he understands the nature of this regime. They all know that Delcy Rodriguez is a communist that no one can trust. Not even, you know, the people surrounding her right now does. I mean these are individuals that have strong ties with Russia, Iran, China, Cuba.
She is doing what she’s doing because United States is putting enough pressure for them to understand that she has no other option. If that pressure were taken away, she would turn around and go back to where her loyalty is, with these regimes are the enemies of America.
So no one is naive here. I think she’s doing part of the dirty job of dismantling her own regime and entourage…
Brennan tried to get back to the timeline question, but Machado shut her down. She said that Rubio, at Trump’s instruction, shows “a clear willingness to move as fast as possible, within control and order and understanding the complexity of such a criminal structure, but understanding that the voice of the people is what brings legitimacy to this process.”
Finally, Brennan tried one last time to stick it to Trump.
“Before I let you go, you know, the last time we spoke, you had made this daring covert escape by land, sea and air from Venezuela to go and receive that Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo,” Brennan said. “You’ve kept those details private, you said, for safety reasons. But you did say you broke your back. You talked about being lost at sea, that you feared that you might lose your life at one point. After all of that, why did you give your Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump, after you’d already dedicated it to him?”
(Um, what? That was one of the worst mental gymnastics routines I’ve ever seen. What does her escaping Venezuela and keeping the details private have to do with giving Trump her Nobel Peace Prize?)
“Look, I think this is a matter of justice, and it’s a matter of what’s in the superior interest of our country,” Machado replied graciously. “We, the Venezuelan people, are truly grateful for what he has done, and we’re confident in what he will do in the – in the days, weeks and months to come.”
“You believe he supports you?” Brennan interrupted.
Machado’s response was perfect:
I do, because it has to do first and foremost with you, the American people, and how dismantling this criminal structure not only saves millions of Venezuelan lives. It also saves lives in the Americas.
And once Venezuela is free, then the Cuban regime will follow. The Nicaraguan regime will follow, even the Iranian regime that has turned Venezuela into its safe haven and satellite only three hours away from Florida.
I mean, this has huge consequence for the Western Hemisphere, for United States. So I think this is a win-win situation for investment, for business opportunity, for security reasons, and certainly for migration tensions and crisis.
So, Venezuela will be free, and I know I will host you soon in a wonderful country that is very grateful to yours.
Here’s the video of the last question if you want to watch Brennan look incredibly uncomfortable. That little incredulous giggle/snort she does made my skin crawl.
WATCH: Margaret Brennan ends her interview of Venezuelan leader María Corina Machado by asking why she gave her Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump pic.twitter.com/I4H6d9sllT
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) February 1, 2026
I guess my point to combining all these things is that I see every one of them as a positive sign that things are moving forward swiftly in Venezuela. The regime’s actions, more political prisoners being released, Machado’s words after talking with Trump and Rubio multiple times — the only red flags I see so far are the ones in the ignorant MSM headlines. They just want to make this out to be some sort of disaster because….well, Trump. But I continue to trust that Trump and Rubio have it very much under control, especially after Thursday’s phone call, and the moment I don’t, I’ll be the first to let you know.
The MSM will not tell you the truth about what’s going on in Venezuela, but we will. We were covering it for months, long before Margaret Brennan and her friends could find the country on a map, and our track record is pretty good. We will continue to do so until that country is free and our president adds another major geopolitical win to his legacy.
But we can only do it with your support. Becoming a PJ Media VIP member is a great way to support conservative media and ensure our voices are heard. It’s less than $20 for an entire year, and you get some cool perks too. We’ll see you in the comment sections.
