Who is Delcy Rodríguez, the leader of Venezuela after Maduro's capture?

2026-01-04 09:08:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Who is Delcy Rodríguez, the leader of Venezuela after Maduro's

Following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro during a US military operation in Venezuela, command of the South American country has fallen into the hands of Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez.

This is what the Venezuelan constitution stipulates in its various scenarios that foresee the absence of a president. According to articles 233 and 234, regardless of whether the absence is temporary or absolute, the vice president assumes presidential duties.

Rodríguez, also finance and oil minister, took office on Saturday afternoon. Hours after the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, she chaired a session of the National Defense Council, surrounded by ministers and other senior officials, and demanded the couple’s “immediate release” while condemning the US military operation.

Standing in front of the Venezuelan flag, Rodríguez said the early morning operation represented a clear violation of international law and Venezuelan sovereignty. She added that the action must be rejected by Venezuelans and condemned by governments across Latin America.

Rodríguez, 56, is from Caracas and studied law at the Central University of Venezuela.

She has spent more than two decades as one of the leading figures of chavismo, the political movement founded by President Hugo Chávez and led by Maduro since Chávez's death in 2013.

Alongside her brother Jorge Rodríguez, the current president of the National Assembly, she has held various positions of power since the Chávez era. She served as minister of communications and information from 2013 to 2014 and later became foreign minister from 2014 to 2017. In this role, she defended Maduro's government against international criticism, including accusations of democratic backsliding and human rights abuses in the country.

As foreign minister, Rodríguez represented Venezuela in forums such as the United Nations, where she accused other governments of seeking to undermine her country.

In 2017, Rodríguez became president of the National Constituent Assembly, which expanded the government's powers after the opposition won the 2015 legislative elections. In 2018, Maduro appointed her vice president for his second term. She held the position through his third presidential term, which began on January 10, 2025, after the controversial election of July 28, 2024. Until the president's capture, she served as Venezuela's top economic authority and oil minister.

Venezuela's opposition claims that the 2024 elections were rigged and that Maduro is not a legitimately elected president. They insist that the real winner was former ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, a position supported by several governments in the region./ CNA