Like Delcy Rodrigue

Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in early Monday morning as the new interim president of Venezuela, while her predecessor Nicolás Maduro awaiting prosecution in a US federal court on drug trafficking charges, two days later he was captured in Caracas by US special forces.

Rodríguez, 56, is a powerful figure and longtime Maduro confidant, and has so far been endorsed as the nation’s new leader by Venezuela’s military. She served as vice president of Venezuela from 2018 until Sunday.

His brother also holds a high government position as president of the National Assembly, Venezuela’s legislature, which has long been controlled by the Maduro regime.

He quickly denounced the U.S. operation on Saturday as a violation of the United Nations founding charter and a unilateral attempt to force regime change, but soon adopted a more conciliatory tone.

In a social media post after a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Rodríguez called for “respectful international relations” between Caracas and Washington and extended an invitation for “the United States government to collaborate with us on a cooperation agenda.”

Venezuela’s approximately 30 million residents face a deeply uncertain future in the wake of President Trump’s actions. It was still unclear on Monday how much autonomy Washington will allow the country, given Trump’s claim that the United States will “rule” Venezuela, at least for some time.

Will the United States work with Rodríguez?

Trump said Saturday that the United States had been in contact with Rodriguez and that “she is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”

But in an interview with The Atlantic published Sunday, he added a warning.

“If he doesn’t do the right thing, he will pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro’s,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated in a Sunday interview on News themezone’ “Take on the nation with Margaret Brennan“That the United States was willing to give Rodríguez a chance.

“We are going to make our assessments of the people,” he said of the remaining Maduro regime figures still in place. “We’re going to make an assessment based on what they do, not what they say publicly in the meantime, not what they’ve done in the past in many cases, but what they do in the future.”

However, speaking on ABC’s “This Week” the same day, Rubio reiterated that the Trump administration does not consider Rodríguez or any of his henchmen to have any legitimate claim to power in the country.

“This is not about the legitimate president. We don’t believe this current regime is legitimate through an election,” Rubio told ABC.

“Ultimately, the legitimacy of your system of government will be achieved through a transition period and real elections,” he continued. “It’s the reason why Maduro is not just an accused drug trafficker. [was an] illegitimate president. “He was not the head of state.”

The rise of Delcy Rodríguez to power in Venezuela

Rodríguez was born in Caracas. His father was Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a prominent leader of the country’s socialist movement who would go on to seize power under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. The new president’s father, however, helped lead the movement before it took power and was arrested for his role in the kidnapping of American businessman William Niehous in 1976.

He died in police custody, apparently while being tortured by the security forces of the former Venezuelan regime.

His daughter Delcy would go on to study law at the Central University of Venezuela, in Caracas, with subsequent periods of education in Great Britain and France.

Rodríguez held several positions during Chávez’s long reign, but only rose to real prominence under Maduro. From 2013 to 2014 she served as Minister of People’s Power for Communication and Information before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, a position she held from 2014 to 2017.

He also chaired an assembly created in response to massive street protests in 2017, which were widely seen as an attempt to sideline the National Assembly, Venezuela’s opposition-controlled legislature, to allow Maduro to consolidate his government.

In 2018, Maduro appointed her vice president of Venezuela, and she remained in that role until she took office to replace her former boss, as ordered by the country’s Supreme Court following dramatic events over the weekend.

In 2020, Rodríguez was also named Minister of Economy and Finance of her country, where she is credited with helping to make some progress toward stabilizing Venezuela’s sanctions-ravaged economy after years of soaring inflation.

In 2024, the position of Minister of Petroleum was also added to her resume.

However, despite her very high-profile role in the Maduro regime, Rodríguez has not been charged with any criminal charges in the United States, although she received sanctions imposed during President Trump’s first term, for her role in helping Maduro “maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule.”