Rodríguez Steps In As Venezuela’s Interim Leader After Maduro’s Arrest

 

Venezuela’s Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, will be sworn in on Monday as interim president following the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a United States military operation carried out over the weekend.

Rodríguez, who remains backed by Venezuela’s Supreme Court and the military, is expected to take the oath of office at 8:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT+1) in the capital, Caracas.

Her emergence as acting leader comes amid heightened tensions after US air strikes in Caracas on Saturday led to Maduro’s capture and subsequent transfer to the United States, where he is now being held at a federal detention facility in New York.

Maduro and Flores are expected to make their initial court appearance later on Monday.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that the former Venezuelan leader has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess prohibited weapons against the United States. Flores faces similar charges.

Bondi accused Maduro of presiding over a violent, state-backed criminal enterprise, insisting that both defendants would “face the full wrath of American justice on American soil.”

US President Donald Trump, reacting to the arrest, described Maduro as an “illegitimate dictator” and warned Rodríguez that she could face severe consequences if she failed to cooperate with Washington.

“For Venezuela, regime change — whatever you want to call it — is better than what you have right now,” Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic, adding that the situation “can’t get any worse.”

Trump also disclosed that he had personally urged Maduro to surrender a week before the strikes that resulted in his arrest.

Despite Washington’s claims that it will oversee Venezuela only until a “safe and proper transition” is achieved, Maduro’s allies continue to control key state institutions, including the military.

The US president further revealed plans to allow American oil companies to enter Venezuela to repair damaged infrastructure and resume crude oil extraction.

At her first cabinet meeting on Sunday, Rodríguez struck a conciliatory tone, expressing readiness to engage with Washington.

“We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law,” she said, adding that Venezuelans “deserve peace and dialogue, not war.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that the United States is not at war with Venezuela, describing the operation as a law enforcement action against drug trafficking networks rather than an invasion.

Rubio noted that Washington does not recognise Venezuela’s current leadership as legitimate and said Rodríguez’s government would be judged by its actions, stressing that the US would maintain “multiple levers of leverage,” including restrictions on Venezuela’s oil sector.

Maduro and Flores were captured during a special forces raid on their compound in the early hours of Saturday. The operation also involved strikes on military installations in Caracas.

Venezuela’s Defence Minister, Vladimir Padrino, confirmed that members of Maduro’s security detail, as well as soldiers and civilians, were killed during the operation. US officials, however, said no American troops were harmed.

Maduro has consistently denied allegations linking him to drug trafficking, accusing the United States of using the war on drugs as a pretext to oust him and gain access to Venezuela’s vast oil resources.