Delcy Rodríguez is Sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela
Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in by her brother, the president of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), Chavista Jorge Rodríguez. The Venezuelan president, who has taken on the role of head of the Executive branch, assured that, in these “terrible hours of threats against stability,” she will not rest “for a minute to guarantee peace.”
Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president on Monday, two days after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Congresswoman Cilia Flores, by U.S. forces amid a series of attacks in Caracas and three nearby states. Sworn in by her brother, the president of the National Assembly (AN, Parliament), the Chavista Jorge Rodríguez, the official, the first woman in Venezuelan history to head the executive branch, assured that, in these “terrible hours of threats against stability,” she will not rest “for a single minute to guarantee peace.”
“I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” Rodríguez said during the event, broadcast on the state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV). She denounced Maduro and Flores as “hostages” in the United States. Rodríguez also asserted that she will not rest until she sees Venezuela fulfill its rightful destiny and stand on the pedestal of historical honor it deserves as a free, sovereign, and independent nation, as well as until she “guarantees a government that provides social well-being, political stability, and political security.”
Vice President Rodríguez was summoned by the Supreme Court to serve as acting president of the country following the capture of Maduro and Flores. The Minister of Hydrocarbons also presided over her first cabinet meeting the previous day and appointed a commission, chaired by her brother and composed of Maduro’s children, to negotiate the release of the president and his wife in the United States. She also announced on Telegram a proposal to Washington to work on a joint “cooperation agenda.” On Sunday, US President Donald Trump demanded that Rodríguez grant him “full access” to Venezuela in terms of natural and other resources, while also revealing that he is considering reopening the US embassy in Caracas.
In an interview this Sunday with The Atlantic, Trump said that if Rodríguez “doesn’t do the right thing,” she faces a future “worse” than Maduro’s. Maduro and Flores were captured by US forces during attacks carried out in Caracas and three surrounding states and brought before a federal court in New York on Monday for their initial hearing, where they pleaded not guilty to all charges. The president is accused in the United States of four federal charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess those same devices in support of criminal activities, as well as collaborating with organizations classified as terrorists by Washington.
