Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro's number two, will be key in Venezuela's immediate future
Although many believe that Venezuelan opponents Maria Corina Machado or Edmundo González would take power after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice has granted leadership to the hitherto Vice President of Venezuela, as well as to the Trump administration.
Delcy Rodriguez in a stock image.
Venezuela'sExecutive Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez , will lead the transition to chavismo after the USarrest President Nicolás Maduro . The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice has ordered him to take office as responsible president after the "kidnapping" of Maduro"leaves an exceptional, atypical and unforeseen situation in the Venezuelan Constitution," in the words of the Court of Justice.
Rodriguez will be the first woman in Venezuela's history to lead the executive.
Under the Constitution, the temporary or absolute absence of the President shall replace the Executive Vice-Presidents up to 90 days and may be extended by Parliament within the same period. If the vacancy is extended for more than 180 days, the Legislature shall decide by a majority of its members whether or not the offence should be considered absolute.
It will be sworn in this Monday, 5 January, and a new legislature (2026-2031) will be established.
Trump and Rubio think they'll "get along" with Rodriguez.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump said he will not deploy troops in Venezuela and will not launch any further attacks if Maduro's vice president does "whatever" his administration wants, and he also advanced that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has contacted him.
However, a few hours later Rodriguez himself said at a press conference that "the only president of Venezuelais Maduro " .
"We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores," Rodriguez said in a speech broadcast on radio and television. He was accompanied by the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, and several officials.
In an interview on NBC TV today, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed that they expect "better cooperation" with the Venezuelan government with the imprisonment of Maduro.
"We now expect a higher level of compliance and better cooperation. There are other people in charge of the military and police apparatus. They will have to choose. We are confident that they will move away from the path of Nicolas Maduro, so that we can make a complete transition," he explained.
The Venezuelan opposition leader has said that "unfortunately" most of the opposition in Venezuela is outside the country. "We have issues on our hands that need to be resolved in the short term," he added.
Donald Trump himself issued a harsh warning today: "If he doesn't do the right thing, he will pay a very high price, probably higher than Maduro."
The onepublished last year by the Miami Herald.
In October last year, the Miami Herald published controversial information that Rodriguez offered the US to lead a transition government without Maduro to protect the country's political stability.
According to the US media, the vice president and his brother, Jorge Rodríguez, together with a group of senior Venezuelan officials, presented to the Trump administration two proposals approved by Maduro , mediated by Qatar.
Rodriguez then dismissed this information as false and accused the Miami Herald of inciting "lies and massacres."
A long political career
Rodriguez, 56, has been number two in the Venezuelan government since June 2018, when he replaced Tareck El Aissami.
He has also been Minister of Hydrocarbons since August 2024, which has made him a key figure within the Executive. He is the chief economic officer, which has brought him closer to the country's business and private sector.
Previously, he served as Minister of Economy, Finance and Foreign Trade ; Minister of Communication ETA ; Chancellor and President of the National Constituent Assembly . This assembly was established in 2017, after the opposition obtained a majority in Parliament.
His first position in high politics came in 2006: served as Minister of the Office of the Presidency under the late Hugo Chavez (1999-2013).
Born in Caracas on 18 May 1969, Rodriguez has developed his career in chavismo with his brother Jorge Rodríguez. The latter is the current president of the National Assembly (Parliament). They both turned to politics from a very young age, after their father, Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, died in July 1976 from injuries inflicted by officials of the Police Intelligence Directorate (Disip).
Hegraduated as alawyer at the Central University ofVenezuela and studied social law at the University of Paris Nanterre.
He also holdsamaster's degree in politics and society from the University of Birkbeck, London.
You might like
What's the new map of the world that the UN is proposing?
The UN General Assembly has taken a decision to stop using the design of the current world map and start using another one more faithful to the size of the continents, which, for example, would increase the size of Africa.
The US sends Witkoff and Kushner to Russia and Ukraine to revive peace talks
President Trump himself has confirmed the news and said that Putin and Zelensky "hate each other deeply," making talks difficult.
Two workers who were trapped in a tunnel in Nepal have been rescued alive and said there are more alive
Ten days after the floods, the two men were found 170 metres from the tunnel entrance, after rescue teams heard voices coming from inside, which families described as a "miracle."
Milei announces sanctions for companies operating in the Malvinas and a new military base in the Land of Fire
Argentina's president has tightened his strategy on the archipelago and proposed that Donald Trump review US neutrality in this matter so far, while reiterating that the UK's commitment to the islands is "absolute and immovable."
More than a thousand people have died in Nepal as a result of the floods, and 3900 people have disappeared
More than 21,000 troops are involved in search and rescue and have managed to rescue 11,814 people, including 253 foreigners.
Shein made his first big hit on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, losing 4%
While the Chinese textile giant has begun its stock market journey with huge holes and has even suffered losses of up to 10% at some point, France is launching today, Tuesday, a fiscal offensive against this business model with charges of up to EUR 12 on each product.
A jury found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty of the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur
Duane "Keffe D" Davis has been found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder in Las Vegas, Nevada, for planning the 1996 shooting that killed iconic rapper Tupac Shakur.
U.S. and Iran resume attacks in the Middle East
The US Army bombed two platforms this morning and killed two people. Iran responded by attacking military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
More than 900 people have died and 4200 have been missing since the floods in Nepal
There are 590 missing foreigners displaced from 39 countries to Nepal, while the search for a tunnel for the Rasuwagadhi Hydroelectric Project has been completed, where dozens of workers were believed to have been trapped, but no one has been found.
Tension escalates in the Middle East after Iran and the US began to attack each other
Tehran has attacked Washington's military installations in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in response to the U.S. bombing of Larek Island and the burning of an "oil supership" in Hormuz with the explosion of two mines.