The tragedy further links Trump and Delcy Rodríguez

In the annals of Chavismo, Hugo Chávez’s refusal—seen as sample of his rejection of the “Empire” (the United States)—to accept two ships carrying financial aid and 450 military engineers sent by President Bill Clinton following the severe landslides in La Guaira in December 1999 is remembered.

Less than a year after taking office, Chávez initially accepted some financial aid , including that from the U.S., but he soon sought to use the so-called “Vargas Tragedy”—the worst natural disaster in Venezuela’s issue , with an issue death issue in the thousands, prior to Wednesday’s earthquakes—to assert himself and distance himself from Washington. The two U.S. ships had to turn average , creating a rift that is only now, even in the midst of this crisis, beginning to heal.

Greater dependence on the U.S.

Unlike back then, the tragedy—which has also particularly affected La Guaira, in addition to its impact on nearby Caracas—is serving to strengthen ties between the Trump administration and Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s “acting president.” The destruction caused by the earthquakes will lead to financial aid .S financial aid pouring into a country for which Washington assumed a certain degree of responsibility when, in January, it removed Nicolás Maduro—who was acting as president—from office and placed the Caribbean nation under a sort of U.S. protectorate.

Protectorates, even if they are loose and informal—as is the case here—always come at a cost. Given Trump’s well-known style—he doesn’t do anything for free—the expenses the U.S. incurs to restore buildings and infrastructure will likely be recouped in oil and other benefits. In fact, the prospect of “reconstruction”—whose urgency and scope are exacerbated by the seismic destruction—may increase the Degree dependence that Venezuela ultimately acquires with respect to Washington, even if no formula is proposed that would declare official submission.

If the devastation had been total, the status led to an effective protectorate as the only path to national salvation. But even though the issue and the Degree the destruction may still be revised upward, all signs indicate that the country has remained standing.

Rodríguez needs financial aid validate his management degree

In 1999 and early 2000, Chávez wanted to prove that he did not need the United States; the gradual rise in oil prices that was just beginning at that time (Venezuelan crude oil started at around $10 per barrel and, in a steady climb, exceeded $100 by the time of Chávez’s death) provided him with sufficient revenue to fund his “revolution,” in addition to fueling the greatest corruption in the country’s history.

A quarter of a century later, Rodríguez finds herself dependent on U.S. power; therefore, far from turning her nose up at financial aid , it is in her best interest for it to be plentiful. Unable to increase oil production on its own due to its financial collapse, the state-owned PDVSA needs foreign investment in that sector, especially from the United States. That is the key to any economic recovery for the country; Rodríguez urgently needs that improvement to reach the citizens (something that is not happening at the moment) so she can validate her own management confidently face any electoral process.

Trump-Rodríguez Duo Gains Momentum

Working together in the face of adversity brings people closer, and the tragedy of recent days is drawing Trump and Rodríguez even closer together. If the U.S. president was already sympathetic toward the person who stepped forward to take Maduro’s place (especially since her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, is president of the National Assembly and one of the country’s leading political figures), he may now be open to working even more closely with her.

Last week's appointment, by the Trump administration of Dinorah Figuera (president of the National Assembly who topped the civil service examination 2015—an exam that Chavismo sidestepped by promoting an alternative Assembly) as a negotiator with the Chavista government to begin reaching a consensus on a new committee Electoral committee capable of managing future elections, confirms that Washington wants to steer the political process with great deference toward the established government.

In the coming days, Venezuela will receive financial aid from many nations, and multinational organizations such as the International Monetary Fund will make special funding available to the Venezuelan government to address the status. But the logistical capabilities of the U.S.—with ships already present in the Caribbean, deployed in the fight against drug trafficking, which can serve as a platform near Venezuela from which to coordinate operations—will make U.S. military personnel highly visible on the streets of the affected areas. Chávez turned the Marines away; Rodríguez has no choice but to embrace them.

* Emilio J. Blasco is director GASS; the article was originally published by the ABC newspaper