Caracas (AFP) – Venezuelan interim president Delcy Rodriguez announced the sacking Wednesday of defense minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, who headed the military for almost a decade under ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.

Rodriguez, who took over after Maduro was deposed by US forces in January, thanked Lopez for his service but did not give any explanation for the change in the important post.

Padrino said on Telegram it had been “the honor of my life” to serve in the post and to “protect peace and national unity.”

The 62-year-old had held the position since 2014 and was considered Maduro’s key ally within the military high command.

Rodriguez, who is acting head of state, appointed General Gustavo Gonzalez Lopez to lead the Defense Ministry.

Under Maduro he was head of the intelligence service known as Sebin. Days after Maduro’s ouster, Gonzalez Lopez was been named chief of the presidential guard and of the feared counter-intelligence directorate.

Bringing Gonalez Lopez into the president’s cabinet means that as much as Rodriguez may project an air of reform in the post-Maduro era, things are staying the same, said Provea, a human rights group.

“There cannot be truly new institutions if those who oversaw repression retain power,” it said.

Rodriguez also changed her ministers of electric energy, housing, transport and labor.

The Venezuelan military is a powerful entity in the country as it also oversees oil, mining and food distribution enterprises, as well as customs operations and key government ministries – all amid allegations of abuse and corruption.

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