Venezuela interim leader taps ex-central bank boss to lead economy

Venezuela's caretaker president Delcy Rodriguez on Tuesday appointed a former central bank director to her cabinet's top economic post, one she herself had held until the toppling of leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez picked Calixto Ortega Sanchez, who led Venezuela's central bank from 2018 to 2025 and also has a background in the oil industry.

It was her first cabinet change since being sworn in as interim president Monday, two days after a US military strike that led to Maduro being whisked away in handcuffs to stand trial in New York.

Rodriguez held the same economic portfolio Sanchez will now take over, while she also served as Maduro's vice president and oversaw Venezuela's key hydrocarbons sector.

In a statement on state TV, she said the government hoped "to consolidate" last year's numbers going forward -- citing a projection of the ECLAC regional economic commission of 6.5 percent growth for Venezuela in 2025.

The South American country's economic outlook is complex, with a depreciation of the local currency stoking fears of hyperinflation.

Vice president since 2018, Rodriguez is credited with helping Venezuela out of a deep economic crisis with the easing of exchange controls and allowing the dollarization of the economy.

She is operating under the watchful eye of US President Donald Trump who has said he would work with her if she toes the line, and has stated he wants "total access" to Venezuelan oil. — Agence France-Presse