MIAMI, United States. – Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in on Monday as “interim president of Venezuela” before the National Assembly, after the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) ordered over the weekend that she assume the functions of head of state following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a United States military operation.
The decision of the TSJ, issued by its Constitutional Chamber, arranged that Rodríguez assumed “the position of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee the administrative continuity and comprehensive defense of the nation,” and announced that the highest court would debate the “applicable legal framework” to sustain the functioning of the State in the face of the “forced absence” of the president.
Maduro was captured in the early hours of last Saturday, January 3, and was transferred to New York, where he will respond to US federal justice on drug-related charges.
The crisis escalated to the UN Security Council, which held an emergency meeting this Monday. Secretary General António Guterres warned that the operation sets “a dangerous precedent,” while jurists cited by Reuters They questioned the legality of the capture due to lack of authorization from the Council, absence of consent from Venezuela and because it did not fit, according to these experts, in a case of legitimate defense.
Rodríguez, 56, had held the vice presidency since 2018 and also served as Minister of Petroleum. has been described as a weighty figure within Chavismo and with close political coordination with his brother Jorge Rodríguez, re-elected this Monday as president of the National Assembly.
This Monday, Maduro pleaded not guilty before the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, in Manhattan. During the hearing, he stated: “I am innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country.”
The appearance, described by AP like a brief procedure that anticipates a prolonged legal battle, it took place around noon. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, listened to the hearing with headphones for the translation from English to Spanish. Both were transferred from a federal prison in Brooklyn to a courthouse in Manhattan under armed escort. Flores also pleaded not guilty.
