The National Assembly of Venezuela began its Legislature for the period 2025-2031 on January 5, 2026, ratifying a directive dominated by Chavismojust two days after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and deputy Cilia Flores during a military operation carried out by the United States.
With the support of the ruling majority, Parliament confirmed Jorge Rodríguez as president of the Legislative Branch for the period 2026-2027accompanied by Pedro Infante in the first vice presidency and Grecia Colmenares, who assumes the second vice presidency for the first time. The three belong to the Great Patriotic Pole.
The Parliament Secretariat was in charge of María Alejandra Hernández, while José Omar Molina Palencia was appointed to the Undersecretariat, proposed by Congresswoman Génesis Garvett as representative of the Homeland Bloc.
Inaugural session of the National Assembly under political tension
The session took place in the Federal Legislative Palace, led by the oldest deputy, Fernando Soto Rojas, 92 years old, who acted as director of debates in accordance with parliamentary protocol.
During his initial intervention, Soto Rojas denounced the capture of Maduro and Flores, which he described as a “kidnapping.” and highlighted the empty seat of the official representative, known as the “first combatant.” Likewise, he supported the appointment of Delcy Rodríguez as acting president ordered by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Soto Rojas appointed a commission to review the credentials of the elected deputies, made up of Giuseppe Alessandrino, América Pérez, José Alvarado, Juan Carlos Alvarado and Dora Bracho.
The new Parliament has 285 deputies, after a new expansion of the chamber to include representation from the recently incorporated state of Guayana Esequiba, a decision that has generated both internal and international questions.
The distribution of the 285 seats was as follows: 253 for Chavismo, 13 for Democratic Alliance, 12 for the coalition of Henrique Capriles and former governor Manuel Rosales, 4 for Fuerza Vecinal and one for Antonio Ecarri, who negotiated for days his move to Capriles’ group.
During the session, giving proof of life, Juan Manuel Escalona, deputy for the state of Portuguesa and head of bodyguards for Maduro’s security ring, was seen, who had been reported dead during the US attacks.
Partial return of the opposition
Among the most relevant events of the day, the reincorporation of opposition figures such as Henrique Capriles, Stalin González, Luis Emilio Rondón and Luis Floridoelected in the regional elections of May 2025.
These leaders distanced themselves from the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), which abstained from participating in the electoral process, alleging lack of guarantees and ignorance of the rule of law. The coalition maintains its support for María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, the latter winner of the 2024 presidential elections, according to the minutes shown by the opposition.
Stalin González, spokesman for the parliamentary group made up of 12 opposition deputies, He advocated the release of political prisoners through a general amnesty.
Maduro Guerra denounces “kidnapping”
During the session, Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the captured president, was sworn in for a third term as deputy and He assured that his father and Cilia Flores “have been kidnapped” by the US government.
“My father, the president and my second mother have been kidnapped. A loving grandfather. Their true crime is being Venezuelan revolutionaries, who did not and will not sell themselves. From them I learned serenity (sobs). Hope that the truth will triumph. They will return, our eyes will see it. They are challenging a historical lineage. If they are Monroe, we are Simón Bolívar,” he said.
Maduro and Flores They appeared this Monday before a federal court in New Yorkwhere they face charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to traffic drugs, possession of weapons of war and links to organizations classified as terrorist by Washington.
National Assembly under question
Both the outgoing Legislature and the newly installed one have been unknown by sectors of the opposition and by the international community, which They question the legitimacy of the 2025 electoral processas well as the application of mechanisms such as the national list, noted for favoring the discretionary allocation of seats.
The new National Assembly is thus installed in a scenario of high institutional uncertainty, while it is expected that once the session progresses, Delcy Rodríguez will be sworn in as interim president of Venezuela.
