Delcy Rodriguez named interim president by Venezuela Court

Delcy Rodriguez named interim president by Venezuela Supreme Court — Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a session of the National Council for Sovereignty and Peace, in Caracas, Venezuela September 29, 2025. Photo: Reuters

CARACAS,— Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to act as the country’s president on Saturday after Nicolás Maduro was arrested in an operation by U.S. forces early that morning.

The Constitutional Chamber of Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled that Rodríguez will temporarily take on the duties of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to ensure that government operations continue smoothly and national defense is maintained.

The court added that it will keep reviewing the situation to establish the legal procedures needed to maintain state functions, oversee the administration, and protect national sovereignty during the president’s involuntary absence.

Rodríguez addressed the nation on state television from Caracas, asserting that Maduro remains the country’s only president despite his capture.

Her statement contradicted earlier comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who had claimed Rodríguez had been “sworn in” as president and was “willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” adding that the U.S. would oversee the country in the immediate term.

Delcy Rodríguez, 56, was born in Caracas on May 18, 1969. She is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, who was a leftist guerrilla and established the revolutionary Liga Socialista party during the 1970s. Known for her staunch defense of Maduro’s government, she has been called a “tiger” by the president himself.

Rodríguez holds multiple government roles, including vice president and minister of finance and oil, making her a central figure in Venezuela’s economy.

She has implemented orthodox economic policies to counter high inflation and is influential among the country’s weakened private sector. She also serves as a close political partner to her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, head of the National Assembly legislature.

Her political career began as Communication and Information Minister from 2013 to 2014. She later served as foreign minister from 2014 to 2017, during which she attempted to attend a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires after Venezuela was suspended.

In 2017, she led a pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro’s powers.

Rodríguez was named vice president in June 2018. Maduro described her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles” when making the announcement on social media.

In August 2024, Maduro assigned her the oil ministry portfolio to manage escalating U.S. sanctions targeting Venezuela’s most critical industry.

On Saturday, Rodríguez also called on the U.S. government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife, while her current location remained uncertain. She is an attorney who graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela and is known for her interest in designer fashion.

(With files from Reuters)