Diosdado Cabello's Shift: From "Not a Drop" to "If They Want to Buy" Amid Maduro's Capture

In a surprising turn of events, Diosdado Cabello has shifted his rhetoric dramatically, offering a stark contrast to his historically anti-American stance. The Chavista leader, who once warned that "not a drop of oil" would be sent to the United States in the event of aggression, is now openly stating that Venezuela has "always" sold crude to the U.S. This shift occurs amid the capture of Nicolás Maduro and increased pressure from Washington on Venezuela's oil industry.

Cabello's recent assertion came during a press conference of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) on January 12. He confidently stated that selling oil to the United States is neither a new nor an unusual practice.

"We have historically sold oil to the United States," he declared, even citing export figures that, according to him, reached up to 1.5 million barrels per day in previous years.

The change in tone is striking when compared to Cabello's prior declarations. Just weeks earlier, he had emphatically declared that "not a drop of oil can leave here for the United States if they attack Venezuela," a statement that was widely circulated on social media as a show of defiance against Washington. Today, that narrative has been left behind.

This shift follows the capture of Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores on January 3, an event that has dramatically altered the balance of power in Venezuela and ushered in a new phase in its relationship with the United States. Since then, the official narrative has moved from open confrontation to a pragmatic approach focused on the political and economic survival of Chavismo.

In this new context, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has publicly confirmed ongoing negotiations with the U.S. government for oil sales, under frameworks similar to those used with companies like Chevron. The state-run company has presented this deal as a "legal, transparent, and mutually beneficial" transaction, though Washington has made it clear that the revenues would remain under its control.

President Donald Trump announced that Venezuela would deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil, as his administration progresses with an energy control plan aiming to stabilize and reorganize the Venezuelan oil industry under U.S. supervision.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined a three-phase strategy —stabilization, recovery, and transition— designed to prevent an internal collapse of the country.

Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has also adopted an unusually conciliatory tone on economic matters. While defending commercial relations with the United States, she acknowledged that a significant portion of Venezuelan exports are destined for that country, even as she described the January 3 military operation as an "aggression."

The contrast between the narrative of resistance and the current reality has been evident even within Chavismo. While Cabello continues to call for calm, peace, and national unity, his acknowledgment of the historic oil sales to the U.S. serves as an implicit admission that the regime's room for maneuver has drastically diminished.

Thus, oil —a central symbol of Venezuelan political power for decades— is once again at the forefront, not as a tool of confrontation, but as a bargaining chip in a moment of extreme institutional weakness.