The country’s top court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume interim leadership following the removal of Nicolás Maduro, citing the need to preserve state continuity amid what it called a forced absence.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of acting president after Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces in Caracas and flown to New York to face criminal charges.
In a ruling issued by the court’s Constitutional Chamber, justices said Rodríguez would take office “to guarantee continuity of government,” adding that the court would open a legal process to define the framework required to preserve the “continuity of the State,” the “administration of government,” and the “defense of sovereignty” in response to Maduro’s “forced absence.”
Rodríguez, 56, has served as vice president since 2018 and is one of the most senior figures in Venezuela’s ruling establishment. A lawyer born in Caracas, she previously held multiple high-level posts under the late President Hugo Chávez and under Maduro, including foreign minister. At the time of Maduro’s removal, she was also serving as Venezuela’s minister of petroleum. She has been widely regarded as a close ally of Maduro and has been sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union.
The U.S. operation to seize Maduro was carried out early Saturday and marked an unprecedented intervention by Washington. President Donald Trump said the United States moved to detain Maduro so he could stand trial on drug trafficking and weapons-related charges. Trump later stated that Washington would temporarily “run” Venezuela until a political transition could be arranged.
Rodríguez sharply rejected the U.S. action, demanding Maduro’s immediate release and declaring that Venezuela “will never return to being the colony of another empire” and would “never return to being slaves.” At the same time, she signaled openness to dialogue, saying Caracas was prepared in principle to pursue “respectful relations” with Washington.
Trump said earlier that Rodríguez had spoken by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and appeared willing to engage with U.S. authorities on next steps.
Rodríguez has also consulted with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who, according to Venezuelan officials, expressed “firm solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of armed aggression.”
Venezuela’s leadership has repeatedly denied U.S. allegations linking the government to drug trafficking, arguing that the charges are being used as a pretext for regime change. The Supreme Court’s decision places Rodríguez at the head of the government as legal, diplomatic and political uncertainty deepens following Maduro’s removal.
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