During a nearly three-week journey through South America, where I had the opportunity to interview the presidents of Argentina and Peru, a recurring question from friends was, “Who is truly in charge of Venezuela?”

My response was straightforward, “The same group of corrupt individuals as before.”

President Donald Trump has asserted that he is now overseeing Venezuela following a U.S. operation that led to the capture of former dictator Nicolás Maduro. He even shared a photo on social media, humorously referring to himself as the “Acting President of Venezuela.”

Trump mentioned having in-depth discussions with Delcy Rodriguez, who was once Maduro’s vice-president and is now serving as interim president. He described her as a “fantastic person” whom he expects to adhere to his directives.

Rodriguez is currently facing significant pressure from a U.S. naval blockade that threatens to severely impact Venezuela’s crucial oil exports.

In light of recent events, Venezuela has released numerous political detainees since Maduro’s apprehension in Caracas on January 3, after which he was transported to New York to confront narcoterrorism charges.

Still, more than 800 political prisoners remain, according to the human rights group Foro Penal.

Rodriguez has also vowed to increase oil shipments to the United States — something Maduro repeatedly offered in exchange for a lifting of US oil sanctions.

More important, Rodriguez and virtually all top officials of Maduro’s dictatorship — including powerful Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Padrino Lopez — remain in charge of the army, police, intelligence services, the “colectivos” paramilitary squads, judiciary and state media.

The regime’s “colectivos” stop people in the streets to check their cellphones and detain those who have posted anti-Maduro statements online.

What’s more, Rodriguez continues to refer to her former boss as the “legitimate” president of Venezuela, and state television describes his capture as a “kidnapping” by US forces.

In her Jan. 15 address to the regime-controlled National Assembly, a day after speaking with and being praised by Trump, Rodriguez denounced the “criminal economic blockade” by US forces.

She also said Venezuela “has the right” to maintain close ties with Russia, China and Iran.

In other words, for Venezuelans, little has changed.

If anything, it’s “Madurismo sin Maduro” — Madurism without Maduro.

Trump administration officials argue it would be unwise to invite opposition leaders to form a new government now, using post-invasion Iraq as a cautionary example.

They fear resistance from the military and bureaucracy would lead to chaos.

But that argument risks perpetuating a bloody dictatorship and scaring off foreign investors.

Trump’s grandiose promises that “we will make Venezuela rich” may end up like others of his that have so far failed to materialize.

Remember the “Gaza Riviera” he said he would build?

Or his campaign vow to end the Russia-Ukraine war “on the first day” of his presidency?

This may be no different.

Instead of praising Rodriguez and falsely claiming that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado does not have “the respect or support within Venezuela” to lead the country — as he said days before receiving Machado at the White House and stating that she is “a wonderful woman” — Trump should have laid out a step-by-step roadmap for the restoration of democracy.

Yet, as of this writing, Trump has not laid out a timeline for measures leading to free elections, such as restoring press freedom and voting rights for the more than 8 million Venezuelans living abroad.

In his first press conference after Maduro’s capture, Trump spoke extensively about oil, drugs and migration but did not mention the word “democracy” even once.

He said a transition could take “years.”

Peru’s interim President José Jeri told me that “there should be a roadmap” — either to install Edmundo González Urritia, the Machado-backed candidate who, according to the most credible voting tallies, won the 2024 election, or to hold new elections in Venezuela.

Former US Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro told me that keeping the current regime won’t bring stability, but rather do the opposite.

“At some point, in 30 or 90 days, or in six months, the [Venezuelan] people are going to be disappointed,” Shapiro told me: “That’s going to lead to an unstable political situation.”

Shapiro proposed that Trump appoint “a group of notables,” neither regime insiders nor opposition figures, to negotiate a roadmap toward restoring basic freedoms and setting the stage for free elections.

“Who would these people be? It could be people like the president of a university, or maybe a bishop, or the cardinal,” Shapiro told me.

“Maybe this could take place in the papal nuncio’s office” in Caracas, he suggested.

I agree: In the absence of a timetable for the return of the rule of law, Trump will soon move on to other foreign-policy priorities, the Rodriguez regime will entrench itself as a “tolerable” dictatorship for the White House and Venezuela will be neither rich nor free.

The time to start that process is now.

Andres Oppenheimer writes about Latin American policy and economic issues in “The Oppenheimer Report.”