Trump Places Venezuelan President On 90-Day Probation, Cites Standard Onboarding Procedure
Officials say the review period is routine for any head of state selected personally, with a check-in scheduled for day forty-five.
The two men shook hands for the first time since Maduro was arrested and flown to the United States, an encounter aides described as warm but administratively necessary. Before the photo line broke up, staff distributed a binder outlining what one official called "the onboarding track," a ninety-day window during which Rodriguez's presidency remains, technically, a trial run.
The binder reportedly includes a section on key performance indicators, among them regime stability, attendance at bilateral calls, and what one page terms "general alignment with expectations discussed informally." A midpoint check-in is scheduled for day forty-five, with a final review to determine whether the position converts to a permanent one or is, in the binder's language, "revisited."
"We just want to see growth quarter over quarter," said an official familiar with the onboarding paperwork, adding that the position remains at-will and that Rodriguez has been given a laminated copy of the org chart for reference.
Rodriguez's team has not commented on the probationary framework, though staff note he has already completed the first of several mandatory orientation modules, including one titled "So You've Been Handpicked." A second module, on exit procedures, is optional but recommended.