CARACAS, Venezuela: Venezuela’s National Assembly on Monday swore in Delcy Rodríguez as interim president, two days after U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transferred them to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The move deepens political uncertainty in the country, even as Rodríguez pledges cooperation with Washington and Maduro’s supporters stage large protests outside the legislature.
Rodríguez, formerly the country’s vice president, took the oath of office during a formal ceremony at the National Assembly, saying she accepted the role “in the name of all Venezuelans.”
While confirming her willingness to cooperate with Washington, she expressed anguish over the detention of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, describing them as “hostages in the United States” and denouncing their capture.
Parliamentarians condemned what they described as an unprecedented foreign military operation against a sitting head of state, while simultaneously rallying behind Rodríguez as Maduro’s constitutional stand-in, according to AFP.
Outside the legislature, thousands of demonstrators gathered to demand Maduro’s release, chanting slogans in support of the detained leader and decrying U.S. intervention.
“Regardless of whether Nicolás Maduro has something to answer for in court, this was not the way to do it,” said protester Flur Alberto, 32, as crowds filled nearby streets with chants of solidarity.
Inside the chamber, lawmakers reaffirmed their support for Rodríguez and reelected her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, as speaker of the National Assembly, consolidating the family’s influence over both the executive and legislative branches.
As the session opened, legislators chanted “Let’s go Nico!”—a slogan from Maduro’s 2024 presidential campaign, an election widely criticized by the opposition and several foreign governments as fraudulent.
According to official accounts, U.S. military forces launched strikes on Caracas early Saturday under orders from President Donald Trump, detaining Maduro and Flores and transporting them to the United States for trial.
Senior lawmaker Fernando Soto Rojas sharply criticized Washington’s actions, accusing Trump of positioning himself as “the prosecutor, the judge, and the policeman of the world.”
“We say: you will not succeed,” Soto Rojas told parliament. “We will deploy all our solidarity so that our legitimate president, Nicolás Maduro, returns victorious to Miraflores.”
Security concerns escalated Monday night when witnesses reported gunfire near the presidential palace. A government source said unidentified drones were spotted flying over Miraflores Palace around 8:00 p.m. local time, prompting security forces to open fire. Authorities later said the situation was under control.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court had ordered Rodríguez to assume the presidency in an acting capacity on Saturday, a move that received swift backing from the armed forces the following day. With Jorge Rodríguez’s reelection as parliamentary speaker, the influential siblings now oversee both branches of government.
Addressing lawmakers, Jorge Rodríguez pledged to pursue “all procedures, all platforms, and all avenues” to secure Maduro’s return. Maduro’s son, National Assembly member Nicolás Maduro Guerra, also voiced strong support for the interim president, telling Rodríguez to “count on me, count on my family,” and assuring the country was “in good hands” until his parents’ return.
The current National Assembly was elected last May in polls boycotted by much of the opposition, leaving the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and its allies with 256 of the chamber’s 286 seats.
Speaking later to demonstrators outside parliament, Maduro Guerra said he remained in “indirect” contact with his father and claimed a strong support network was working on his behalf abroad. He reiterated Venezuela’s call for respectful international relations based on equality and non-interference.
Although Rodríguez initially insisted that Maduro remained Venezuela’s only president, she later signaled openness to cooperation with the United States, which has indicated it would engage with Venezuelan authorities if its policy demands are met. President Trump, however, warned that Rodríguez herself could face severe consequences should she fail to comply with U.S. expectations regarding political reforms and oil access.
