Delcy Rodríguez Steps In As Venezuela’s Interim Leader

Delcy Rodríguez, who has been Venezuela's vice president under Nicolas Maduro since 2018, stepped up as interim leader after Maduro's abduction left a sudden power gap in the country. On Saturday, Venezuela’s highest court put Rodríguez in charge, and the armed forces reportedly signalled their support right away.

Delcy Rodríguez was born in Caracas in 1969. She comes from a deeply political family; her father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, was a left-wing activist who started the Socialist League in the 1970s. He died in 1976 after being tortured while in police custody. Delcy Rodríguez trained as a lawyer at the Central University of Venezuela and rose fast in politics over the last decade. Along the way, Rodríguez became a familiar face abroad, often speaking for the socialist project launched by the late Hugo Chávez and still championed by his followers, known as Chavistas. Over the years, she has held several key roles. In 2017, she led the pro-government Constituent Assembly that strengthened Maduro’s grip on power. Before that, she was Venezuela’s top diplomat from 2014 to 2017 and earlier served as minister for communication and information between 2013 and 2014.

Delcy Rodríguez has been a central figure in Venezuela’s economic scene, holding the finance and oil ministries alongside her vice presidency. Her role gave her major influence over the country’s shrinking private sector. In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to her responsibilities, tasking her with handling the mounting US sanctions on Venezuela’s key industry. Even though she is often viewed as relatively moderate, Maduro has praised Rodríguez for her unwavering loyalty, dubbing her a “tiger” for fiercely defending his socialist government. When she was appointed vice president in June 2018, he highlighted her courage and experience, calling her a revolutionary, the daughter of a martyr, and someone proven in countless struggles.

Following Maduro’s abduction on Saturday, Rodríguez called on the US to show evidence that both Maduro and his wife were still alive. After Maduro’s capture, Rodríguez initially took a hard line, but she later shifted gears and extended an offer to work with the US. On Sunday night, she said she had invited the US to “join on a cooperative agenda.” Her statement came shortly after Donald Trump warned that she might face a “bigger price than Maduro” if she refused to comply with his demands.

According to sources cited by the New York Times, the Trump Administration decided to back Rodríguez around the same time it moved to remove Maduro. She was quickly considered a suitable, though temporary, replacement. Officials were reportedly persuaded by intermediaries that she was the best choice, especially given her track record managing Venezuela’s oil industry as minister, which was a key interest for Trump.