Venezuela's newly installed caretaker president Delcy Rodriguez made a significant announcement on January 7, 2026, naming Calixto Ortega Sanchez—a seasoned economist who previously served as president of the Central Bank of Venezuela from 2018 through 2025—as the country's new vice president for economy and finance, signaling an immediate focus on stabilizing the nation's battered financial system.

Ortega Sanchez brings substantial credentials to the role, combining his recent leadership at the central bank with prior high-level experience in Venezuela's vital oil industry, positioning him to inherit the exact economic portfolio that Rodriguez herself managed extensively during her years as vice president and overseer of the hydrocarbons sector under the ousted regime.

The appointment represents Rodriguez's inaugural cabinet adjustment since her formal swearing-in as interim president on January 6, merely 72 hours after the high-profile U.S. military raid in Caracas that culminated in Nicolás Maduro's detention and swift transfer to New York to face longstanding federal indictments on narco-terrorism and related charges.

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During a nationally broadcast address from Miraflores Palace, Rodriguez articulated ambitions to solidify and expand upon encouraging economic indicators, specifically referencing the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean's forecast of 6.5 percent GDP growth for Venezuela in 2025, even as she acknowledged ongoing vulnerabilities such as persistent bolivar depreciation and looming hyperinflationary pressures.

Rodriguez, widely recognized for engineering a partial economic rebound through pragmatic reforms including the relaxation of stringent currency controls and tacit encouragement of widespread dollarization, now leads the transitional administration under intense international observation, particularly from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has publicly conditioned American cooperation on alignment with Washington's priorities, including demands for unimpeded access to Venezuela's vast petroleum resources.

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