On Saturday morning local time, US forces launched an attack on Caracas and several other cities in Venezuela. During the operation, Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured and deported from the country. The Supreme Court transferred the duties of head of state to Rodriguez, the current vice president.
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Who is Delcy Rodriguez?
What was Delcy Rodriguez doing before she took over?
What positions did Rodriguez have in the government?
How did Donald Trump react to Rodriguez taking power?
The vice president takes power in Venezuela. “One of the most powerful characters in the system”
Maduro appointed her to this position in 2018. From 2020, she combined it with the position of Minister of Economy and Finance, and from 2024 also as Minister of Petroleum. As vice president, she was the official head of the SEBIN intelligence agency, described as the secret police of the Venezuelan regime.
— He is not a moderate alternative to Maduro. She was one of the most powerful and hardline figures in the entire system
Imdat Oner, an analyst at the Jack D. Gordon Institute and former Turkish diplomat in Venezuela, told CNN.
Lawyer and political analyst Jose Manuel Romano said that Rodriguez was a “very prominent” figure in the Venezuelan government and enjoyed Maduro's “full trust.”
— She is a woman with great leadership and team management skills. It focuses on results and has significant influence over the entire government apparatus, including the Ministry of Defense. This is very important in the current circumstances
– he assessed.
Who is Delcy Rodriguez?
Rodriguez was born in 1969 in Caracas. She is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, a left-wing activist and militant who died in custody where he was imprisoned for his role in the kidnapping of an American businessman. Her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, is currently the president of the Venezuelan parliament.
The acting president of Venezuela is a trained lawyer. She was already involved in politics during the presidency of Hugo Chavez, but in 2013, when he was replaced by Maduro, her position began to strengthen. In 2013-2014, she headed the Ministry of Communication and Information, and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In 2017, Rodriguez resigned from that position to lead a controversial constituent assembly that expanded Maduro's powers. When she left the position of foreign minister, Maduro praised her actions in defending the position of the socialist government on the international arena.
— She truly deserves the recognition of the entire country because she defended Venezuela's sovereignty, peace and independence like a tigress. Congratulations, comrade! “Good job,” Maduro said then.
When announcing Rodriguez's election as vice president in 2018, Maduro described her as “a young, brave, experienced woman, the daughter of a martyr, a revolutionary, proven in a thousand battles.”
Trump threatens the vice president of Venezuela. She demands Maduro's release
After Maduro's capture, US President Donald Trump suggested that Rodriguez was willing to cooperate and would meet American demands. However, he later threatened her that he would “pay a price higher than Maduro” if “she did not do what was right.”
Rodriguez herself took over Maduro's duties on Saturday and chaired a session of the National Defense Council, where she appeared alongside ministers and high-ranking officials. In a televised speech, she demanded the release of Maduro, whom she described as the “only president” of Venezuela.
