Former VP Delcy Rodriguez has called on the US to free Nicolas Maduro, vowing that Venezuela “will never again be a colony”
Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take on the role of interim president after Nicolas Maduro was abducted by US forces from Caracas and flown to New York to face criminal charges.
In a ruling on Saturday, the court’s Constitutional Chamber stated that Rodriguez would assume the office “to ensure the continuity of government,” adding that it would start a legal discussion to determine the framework required to safeguard the “continuity of the State,” the “administration of government,” and the “defense of sovereignty” in the face of Maduro’s “forced absence.”
Rodriguez, 56, a lawyer born in Caracas, has been vice president since 2018. She held a series of senior positions under the late Hugo Chavez and Maduro, including foreign minister. At the time of Maduro’s abduction on Saturday, she was also the oil-rich country’s Minister of Petroleum. The official, who has been widely regarded as a strong Maduro ally, has been targeted by US and EU sanctions.
The US captured Maduro to put him on trial for drug trafficking and weapons-related charges in an unprecedented raid on Caracas on Saturday. US President Donald Trump has since claimed that Washington would “run” Venezuela until a transition.
Rodriguez has responded, demanding that the US immediately release Maduro, while emphasizing that Venezuela “will never go back to being a colony of another empire” and “will never go back to being slaves.”
At the same time, she said that, in principle, Caracas is ready to move towards “respectful relations” with Washington. Trump said earlier that Rodriguez had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio by phone and seemed willing to work with Washington.
Rodriguez has also talked to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who “expressed strong solidarity with the Venezuelan people in the face of armed aggression.”
Venezuela’s leadership has repeatedly denied accusations that it is linked to the drug trade, arguing that the charges from the US are merely a pretext for regime change.