(January 13, 2026)

Who she is: Venezuela‘s interim president

Portfolio: Maduro‘s former vice president, she‘s running the country under the oversight of the United States.

Why she matters: A seasoned lawyer and longtime party official, she‘s known as the „tsarina“ for the economic power she accrued as vice president, oil minister and finance minister. She‘s technically under sanction for serving in the Maduro government, but she has won the trust of the US government (for now) and is seen by US oil company executives as most able to work with them to rebuild the country‘s degraded energy infrastructure.