Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodriguez To Step In As 'Acting President' After Maduro's 'Capture'

Caracas: After Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was detained early Saturday morning (local time) in an operation by U.S. forces, the Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela's Supreme Court ordered that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez would assume the role of acting president of the country in the former's absence.

According to a Reuters report, the court ruling mentioned that Rodríguez would assume "the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation."

The United States carried out a massive military operation in Venezuela to ‘capture’ Maduro on charges of ‘narco-terrorism’. The President and his wife, Cilia Flores, have landed in Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York. The power couple in the oil-rich South American country, now deposed, were flown out of Venezuela after a joint operation involving US intelligence agencies and the law enforcement agencies.

Who Is Delcy Rodríguez?

Delcy Rodríguez who will now be the Interim President of Venezuela has been a lawyer, a diplomat, and has held several high profile portfolios during the presidency of Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. Rodríguez had served as the Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014. From 2014 to 2017, she was appointed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the President of the Constituent Assembly of Venezuela from 2017 to 2018.

Currently serving as the Minister of Petroleum in the country that is known to have the largest proven crude oil reserves, Rodríguez holds significant clout in her country's governance infrastructure and within her party. Rodríguez is also a member of the national leadership of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

Rodríguez faces sanctions from several countries and groupings like the European Union, the United States and Canada, and was also banned from entering Colombia over alleged human rights violations.

Rodríguez First Reaction After Maduro's Capture

Earlier, in a televised address to Venezuelans soon after the US strikes, Rodríguez had claimed, “There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolas Maduro Moros.” Rodríguez was open to talks and “have respectful relations” with the Trump administration, even after the ‘capture’.

After the attack, Rodríguez asked US to show “proof of life” of Maduro and his wife Flores. Condemning the attacks, she termed the US operation as a “complete brutal aggression against our people.”

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