Rodríguez Assumes Presidential Duties After Court Order
Venezuela’s Supreme Court instructed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to take over the functions and authority of the presidency after the United States removed Nicolás Maduro from power. The ruling was delivered late Saturday, concluding that Maduro is in a state of substantial and temporary incapacity to fulfill his responsibilities.
The court mandated that Rodríguez fully exercise all presidential powers to safeguard institutional continuity and national defense. The Venezuelan constitution stipulates that the vice president must step in whenever the president is absent, either temporarily or permanently.
A Political Figure With Deep Roots
Rodríguez, aged 56, is a Caracas born lawyer and daughter of a leftist guerrilla, and she has long worked closely with her brother Jorge Rodríguez, who leads the national assembly. Her government career includes holding the positions of finance and oil minister, which placed her at the center of the country’s struggling economy.
Her ascent to the vice presidency in 2018 followed earlier posts such as communications minister, foreign minister, and head of the pro government constituent assembly that expanded Maduro’s authority in 2017. Her tenure has also included directing orthodox economic policies aimed at slowing Venezuela’s hyperinflation.
Maduro’s Trusted Ally
Nicolás Maduro previously praised Rodríguez as a tiger for her intense defense of his socialist administration. His remarks also described her as a young, courageous revolutionary whose political instincts had been forged through countless trials.
Claims and Counterclaims With Washington
Former US president Donald Trump asserted that Rodríguez privately told Senator Marco Rubio she was willing to do what we consider necessary to make Venezuela great again. Rodríguez later demanded that US officials provide proof that Maduro and his wife remain alive.
A Defiant National Address
In a televised address broadcast by state media, Rodríguez declared that Venezuela will never become a colony under any circumstances. She emphasized that Caracas is open to a respectful relationship with the Trump administration as long as it stays within the boundaries of international and Venezuelan law.
Her appeal included a call for the release of Maduro and his wife, whom she described as the only legitimate leadership of the country. Trump had previously contended that Rodríguez told Rubio she was prepared to do whatever was deemed necessary to make Venezuela great again, adding that the United States would govern the nation.
