While former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center following a nighttime U.S. military operation that removed him and his wife from Caracas and brought them to New York to face narco-terrorism charges, those back home watched the situation closely. The couple pleaded not guilty in their first court appearance, with Maduro firmly asserting that he remains “the president of my country.”
The situation has left the future of Venezuela shrouded in uncertainty, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. would “run” the country.
The upheaval has reached Venezuelan athletes, including Major League Baseball players. Those who had returned home to take part in the Venezuelan Winter League suddenly faced not only the shock of the operation itself but also the anxiety of whether they could return to the United States for spring training next month or the World Baseball Classic in March, leaving their professional teams in a state of tension.
Amid the turmoil, The Athletic conducted an exclusive interview with Venezuelan catcher Jesús Rodríguez, one of the San Francisco Giants’ top prospects. Rodríguez shared what things were like in Caracas in the wake of the attack and expressed optimism that he could return to the United States in the coming days to join his team for spring training in Arizona.
What went through your mind when the attacks began?
The first thing that goes through your mind is to thank God that we weren’t right there where it all happened, because I live in Caracas and we were close to one of the places that was bombed, but thank God we weren’t there. … The second thing was how it was all going to play out, if I was going to be able to leave the country, if I was going to be active on flights. … Those were the things that went through my mind, trying to leave the country when it was my turn to leave in the best way possible.
Excited to see what Jesus Rodriguez does in his first full season with the Giants org. The 23-year-old looked great in AAA last season.
.271 xBA
13.6% K%
16.1% Whiff%
94.24% Z-Contact%
5.07% SwStr%.322/.399/.401 slashline in his first 39 games with Sacramento👀 pic.twitter.com/Pe6jiUS6Mr
— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) November 12, 2025
How did the Giants contact you after the bombings?
When it was all happening at around 5 or 6 in the morning, my agent wrote to me, several coaches from the team wrote to me to check on me, the organization called my agent and well, my agent called me. They were there for me from the moment they found out about everything that was happening. They called me. They contacted me. … They said they would let me know when they could send me the ticket because I was thinking of leaving before spring training, on the 20th of this month, to the complex in the United States to train there (in Scottsdale, Ariz.) and wait for spring training there.
How would you describe the current level of tension in Venezuela?
You can always feel people’s nerves, and everyone is paying attention to everything that is happening. But, honestly, we’re calm. We were a little nervous on the first day, but we’re calm now, trusting in God that everything will turn out OK and that whatever happens between them (Trump and the Venezuelan government) won’t affect us as a family, or me in my career, or the other players who aren’t here right now.
Did you communicate with other MLB players in Venezuela amid the chaos?
I was talking to a friend (Omar Martinez) who is with the Angels. He is also here in Venezuela, and we are talking, and he told me that the organization also communicated with him and that they would let him know if anything happened, if they had to get him out quickly, or how his transfer (to the United States) would work. If there were any kind of emergency happening, they would also let him know in the next few days. They were also very attentive to him, and he tells me that they have been talking to him almost every day, asking him if he is okay.
How did players in Venezuela react to the uncertainty around the Venezuelan Winter League when everything unfolded?
It’s sad because many of them depend on those salaries; they depend on those moments in baseball to get work in the United States, in Mexico, anywhere. It’s sad to know that some of them are worried because they don’t know what they’re going to do, they don’t know if they’re going to get a job.
What are the expectations regarding relations between the United States and Venezuela? How do you think that would affect the recruitment of Venezuelan players in MLB?
I hope it really is for the best, not only for the players, but for everyone. But someone who is in this world, who has seen so many things, hopefully, this can help the relationship between Venezuela and the United States improve, and everyone can achieve their goals. They can also have many good things here (in Venezuela) to be able to train and improve their skills in order to get signed (in the U.S.). … I hope that future baseball players, the children, never lose that desire to make it to the major leagues, that desire for the country to improve, for the country to do well. In other words, that they always have the same desire to continue representing Venezuela.
Giants international scouting director Joe Salermo told The Athletic that things are returning to normal, despite the shocking developments. The hope is that it will be easier for MLB teams to operate in Venezuela in the future, because there is currently no U.S. Consulate in the country, and players have to go to Colombia or other countries to process their visas.
— The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly contributed to this story.