Following Nicolas Maduro’s abduction during a US military operation, Delcy Rodriguez, formerly Venezuela’s vice president, has been formally sworn in as its leader.
Rodriguez took the oath of office in front of Venezuela’s National Assembly on Monday.
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Rodriguez reaffirmed her opposition to the military attack that resulted in Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores being taken and exiled from the legislative body, which is largely made up of government loyalists.
Rodriguez, 56, addressed the assembly as “I come with pain over the kidnapping of two heroes who are being held hostage: First Lady Cilia Flores and President Nicolás Maduro.”
“I commit myself to working tirelessly to ensure our people’s peace, spirituality, economic tranquility, and prosperity.”
Rodriguez, a former labor attorney, has been in office since the early morning attack that led to the kidnapping. Before dawn on Saturday, explosions were reported in the country’s capital, Caracas, as well as at some civilian locations and close to Venezuelan military installations.
Rodriguez’s brother, Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Assembly, and Maduro’s son, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, who held a copy of the Venezuelan Constitution, presided over the swearing-in ceremony on Monday.
Other members of Maduro’s inner circle, including Vladimir Padrino and Diosdado Cabello, were also present.
In a courthouse in New York City, Maduro, her predecessor and former boss, was the subject of the ceremony.
According to federal prosecutors in the US, Maduro is accused of using government authority to export thousands of tonnes of cocaine to North America.
The charges include conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism, cocaine importation, unlawful possession of machine guns and other destructive weapons, and conspiracy to possess them.
The pair’s abduction has been criticized as a violation of international law, as well as Venezuelan sovereignty, by Maduro and his wife, who has entered a not-guilty plea.
Maduro continued to hold his position as Venezuela’s legitimate leader in court on Monday, saying, “I am still president.
However, US President Donald Trump’s administration has indicated that it will continue to work with Rodriguez for the time being, even though Trump himself warned that if she doesn’t abide by US demands, her tenure as president could be shortened.
In a Sunday morning interview with The Atlantic magazine, Trump claimed, “She will pay a very large price if she doesn’t do what’s right. She will probably outweigh Maduro.”
Trump had stated in a televised address a day earlier that his administration intended to “run the country until such time as we can make a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
Trump reaffirmed that statement on Air Force One as he flew back to Washington, DC on Sunday.
Don’t ask me who is in charge because I will respond in a way that will be very contentious. He declared to reporters, “We’re in charge.”
Rodriguez continued, adding that Rodriguez is “cooperating” and that Rodriguez is “dealing with the people who just got sworn in,” despite his personal indiscretion.
Rodriguez, a former labor attorney, has been criticized for its apparent willingness to allow him to remain in charge.
Rodriguez, who has been in charge of the party since 2018, is regarded as a staunch “chavista”: a member of Maduro’s mentor, the late Hugo Chavez. Under Maduro, she held a number of ministerial positions, including those in charge of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Rodriguez’s supporters in the Republican Party have argued that this is all just a practical reality, contrary to Trump’s allies.
“We don’t recognize Delcy Rodriguez as Venezuela’s legitimate ruler.” Republican Senator Tom Cotton testified to CNN on Sunday that we didn’t recognize Nicolas Maduro as a legitimate ruler.
She and other sanctioned and indicted officials are in Venezuela, it is undisputed. The security services and the military are under their control. That fact must be handled by us. They are not a trustworthy leader as a result.
Trump largely avoided holding re-elections in Venezuela while on Air Force One, saying instead that he would concentrate on “fixing” the nation and allowing US oil companies to access its vast petroleum reserves.
How soon can an election take place, according to a reporter on the airplane?
“Well, I believe we should focus more on getting it fixed, getting it ready first, because it’s mess.” Trump responded, “The country is a mess.” It has been horribly run, she said. Simply put, the oil is flowing at a very low rate.
He later stated, “We’re going to run everything.” We’ll test it and make a fix for it. Elections will be held when necessary. The main thing you need to fix is that the country is in disrepair. There is no money.
Maduro claimed victory in each of Venezuela’s recent presidential elections, which have been widely denounced as fraudulent.
For instance, the US briefly recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as president despite the contested 2018 election.
Despite regular elections, Maduro later won the presidential election for a third time in 2024.
The opposition published documents that appeared to show that Maduro’s rival Edmundo Gonzalez had won the official vote, but the results were not made public. More than 2, 000 protesters were unlawfully detained, according to Human Rights Watch, with at least 25 of the dead in alleged extrajudicial killings that erupted on Venezuela’s streets.
Venezuelan legislative elections have largely been rigged in favor of “chavistas,” and the opposition has criticized them.
