• Venezuela’s Supreme Court confirmed Delcy Rodriguez as acting president hours after U.S. forces captured Nicolas Maduro
• Rodriguez demanded Maduro’s immediate release, declaring him Venezuela’s only legitimate president despite Trump’s claims
• Daughter of Marxist guerrilla rose through Chavista ranks to become key economic architect and Maduro’s most trusted ally

CARACAS (TDR) — Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, delivered a defiant rebuke to President Donald Trump hours after the capture of the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, who now awaits trial in a New York federal jail on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges.

The Supreme Court of Venezuela confirmed hardline socialist Vice President Rodriguez, 56, as Maduro’s successor Saturday evening, just hours after U.S. forces detained him and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a dramatic overnight raid on Caracas.

Trump’s Miscalculation

Trump claimed Rodriguez appeared cooperative and willing to work with Washington, telling reporters the U.S. would “run” Venezuela during a transition period. The president said Rodriguez had a “gracious” conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”

“She, I think, was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice. She is essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again. Very simple.”

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But Rodriguez’s televised address to the Venezuelan nation told a starkly different story, directly contradicting Trump’s characterization and demanding Maduro’s immediate release.

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro. We demand the immediate liberation of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.”

Standing before the Venezuelan flag and surrounded by military leaders, Rodriguez accused the United States of launching an illegal invasion to seize the country’s natural resources. She called the operation “a barbarity” and vowed Venezuela would “never again be slaves.”

Daughter of Revolutionary Guerrilla

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Rodriguez was born May 18, 1969, in Caracas, the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, a prominent Marxist leader who founded the Socialist League. Her father led the 1976 kidnapping of American businessman William Niehous and died that same year during interrogation by Venezuelan intelligence agents.

The legacy of revolutionary struggle shaped Rodriguez’s political trajectory. She studied law at the Central University of Venezuela and rose rapidly through the political ranks of chavismo, the socialist movement founded by President Hugo Chavez.

Her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, currently serves as president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, creating a powerful political dynasty at the heart of Maduro’s government.

Rapid Rise Through Chavista Ranks

Rodriguez spent more than two decades building credentials within Venezuela’s socialist establishment. In 2013, newly elected President Nicolas Maduro appointed her as minister of communication and information, elevating her to foreign minister in 2014, making her the first woman to hold that role in Venezuelan history.

As foreign minister from 2014 to 2017, Rodriguez became known for aggressive defense of the Maduro government. She represented Venezuela at United Nations forums, where she famously called Organization of American States Secretary-General Luis Almagro “a liar, dishonest, a criminal, and a mercenary.”

Economic Architect and Oil Czar

In 2017, Rodriguez became president of the Constituent National Assembly that expanded government powers after the opposition won 2015 legislative elections. Maduro appointed her vice president in June 2018, describing her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles.”

Maduro called Rodriguez a “tiger” for her fierce defense of his socialist government. She retained the vice presidency through his controversial third term, which began January 10, 2025, following disputed July 2024 elections that the opposition claims were fraudulent.

Rodriguez simultaneously holds positions as finance minister and oil minister, making her Venezuela’s chief economic authority. She has attempted to implement orthodox economic policies to combat hyperinflation and cultivated relationships with the country’s withered private sector.

Her economic management and English-speaking capabilities reportedly impressed Trump administration officials, according to The New York Times, who viewed her as a more acceptable leader than opposition figure Maria Corina Machado.

Trump’s Threat and Rodriguez’s Defiance

Trump explicitly rejected Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who dedicated her award to him, claiming she lacked sufficient support to lead Venezuela. Instead, Trump said the U.S. preferred working with Rodriguez during the transition period.

But the president issued a stern warning to Rodriguez in a Sunday interview with The Atlantic, threatening consequences if she fails to comply with American demands.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton told CNN the United States does not recognize Rodriguez as Venezuela’s legitimate leader, just as it never recognized Maduro. Cotton warned that “what we just did with Nicolás Maduro could be done again to other Venezuelan leaders.”

Constitutional Crisis Deepens

Venezuela’s constitution mandates that new elections be held within 30 days in the event of a president’s absence, though it remains unclear whether that applies to Maduro’s forced removal by foreign military action.

The Supreme Court ordered Rodriguez to assume presidential powers “to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation.” Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez endorsed the ruling and said a significant portion of Maduro’s security team was killed during the U.S. raid.

International Implications

Policy analysts question Trump’s assessment that Rodriguez will cooperate. Imdat Oner, a policy analyst at the Jack D. Gordon Institute, told CNN that Rodriguez “is not a moderate alternative to Maduro” and “has been one of the most powerful and hard-line figures in the entire system.”

Rodriguez has consistently accused the United States of pursuing a colonial model. In recent posts, she vowed to “defend its rights to free trade, navigability, free development, sovereignty and national independence.”

Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay and Spain issued a joint statement expressing “rejection” of the U.S. ouster and “concern about any attempt at governmental control or outside appropriation of natural or strategic resources.”

Can Trump force cooperation from a hardline socialist who spent decades defending Maduro’s regime, or will Rodriguez lead Venezuelan resistance against American intervention?

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