CARACAS, Jan 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Venezuela's interim president on Friday dismissed businessman Alex Saab, a close ally of deposed leader Nicolas Maduro, from his post as minister of industry. In a Telegram message, Delcy Rodriguez announced the ministry would be combined with a commerce ministry and thanked Saab -- a Colombian-born Venezuelan -- "for his service to the Homeland; he will be taking on new responsibilities." The change comes amid pressure from Washington following the January 3 US military raid that ousted Maduro. Saab, released in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States, was appointed to office in 2024 by Maduro. Saab's dismissal is among the latest key changes to Venezuela's government by Rodriguez since the US capture of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado meanwhile said her country is starting a "true transition" to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump. Trump however has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the January 3 US military operation that seized president Nicolas Maduro. "We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy," Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an "immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans" as well as around the region and the world. "Venezuela is going to be free, and that's going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump," Machado said. Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election -- claims supported by Washington and much of the international community. But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez, so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves. Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is "following orders" rather than acting of her own will. The opposition leader's remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas. Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to "deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship," a US administration official said on condition of anonymity. - Nobel medal - In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro's overthrow. Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants. Machado, 58, on Thursday presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president. "He deserves it," she said. "And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela." It was not immediately clear if Trump -- who said Friday that he and Machado will "be talking again" -- kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred. Trump had campaigned hard to win last year's Nobel Peace Prize, falsely claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it went to Machado instead. Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said he "likes what he's seeing" from her. Rodriguez said however that her government will stand up to Washington. "We know they are very powerful...we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue," she said Thursday. Rodriguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges. By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro's rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.