Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered on Saturday that Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assume the role of acting president in the absence of President Nicolás Maduro, who was detained earlier in the day during an operation carried out by US forces.
According to Reuters, the Constitutional Chamber ruled 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 ruling said the court would further deliberate to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.”
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Who is Delcy Rodriguez?
Delcy Rodríguez, 56, is a Caracas native born on May 18, 1969. She is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a left-wing guerrilla fighter who founded the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.
She studied law at the Central University of Venezuela, CNN reported, and has risen rapidly through the political ranks over the past decade.
Rapid rise
Rodríguez served as Venezuela’s minister of communication and information from 2013 to 2014, before becoming foreign minister from 2014 to 2017.
In 2017, she was appointed head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly that significantly expanded Maduro’s powers.
Maduro named Rodríguez vice president in June 2018. He announced the appointment on X and describing her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles.”
Key role in oil and economic policy
In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to Rodríguez’s portfolio, tasking her with managing escalating US sanctions on Venezuela’s most important industry, Reuters reported. She has also served as the country’s chief economic authority.
Rodríguez works closely with her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who heads Venezuela’s National Assembly.
Rodríguez demands proof of life for Maduro
On Saturday, Rodríguez called on the US government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an audio message broadcast on state television.
She insisted that Maduro remained Venezuela’s legitimate president despite his detention by US forces.
“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” said Rodríguez.
Conflicting claims with Trump
Her comments directly contradicted earlier remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said Rodríguez had been “sworn in” as president and was “willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Trump also said the United States would be running Venezuela in the immediate future.
State television showed Rodríguez speaking from Caracas on Saturday, despite earlier reports that she was in Russia.
(With inputs from Reuters)