Venezuela’s Court Names Delcy Rodríguez Interim President

News Desk

Caracas: Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Saturday ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the role of interim president following the detention of President Nicolás Maduro in an early-morning operation by US forces, a move that has heightened uncertainty over the country’s political future.

In a ruling, the Constitutional Chamber said Rodríguez would take over “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation.”

The court added it would continue deliberations to determine the legal framework needed to ensure continuity of the state, governance and sovereignty amid what it described as the “forced absence” of the president.

On the streets of Venezuela, the situation remained relatively calm. Soldiers patrolled parts of the country, while small pro-Maduro gatherings were seen in Caracas.

Others expressed relief at the dramatic turn of events. “I’m happy. I doubted for a moment that it was happening because it’s like a movie,” said Carolina Pimentel, a 37-year-old merchant in the city of Maracay.

US President Donald Trump, speaking at a press conference alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, offered few details on how Washington would govern Venezuela while its institutions and military remain intact.

Trump said senior members of his administration would oversee the country and signaled openness to deploying US troops. “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground,” he said.

The removal of Maduro, who ruled Venezuela for more than 12 years and was widely criticized by opponents as a dictator, has raised fears of a power vacuum in the oil-rich nation, which borders Colombia, Brazil, Guyana and the Caribbean.

Trump ruled out cooperation with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, long regarded as Maduro’s strongest rival, saying she lacked domestic support. Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has not been contacted by the US, Trump said.

Trump’s comments about a potentially open-ended US military presence revived comparisons with past US-led interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, conflicts that ended after years of costly occupation. While Trump said previous military actions under his leadership were “only victories,” he has in the past criticized regime-change wars, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The United States has not carried out such a direct intervention in Latin America since its 1989 invasion of Panama to depose Manuel Noriega. Washington has accused Maduro of running a “narco-state” and rigging Venezuela’s 2024 election, allegations he has denied, arguing instead that the US seeks control of Venezuela’s oil reserves.

Trump’s rhetoric also evoked historic US doctrines asserting dominance in the Western Hemisphere, including the Monroe Doctrine. He joked that an updated version might be called the “Donroe Doctrine.”

International reaction was sharply divided. Argentina’s President Javier Milei praised what he called Venezuela’s new “freedom,” while Mexico condemned the intervention and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said it crossed “an unacceptable line.”

Russia and China, key allies of Caracas, criticized Washington, with China’s foreign ministry accusing the US of violating international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty.

At home, Trump’s actions carry political risks. He said a US presence in Venezuela “won’t cost us a penny,” arguing expenses would be covered by oil revenues — comments that recalled similar claims made ahead of the Iraq war, which ultimately cost the US trillions of dollars.

With US midterm elections approaching and voters focused largely on inflation and domestic issues, Democrats have seized on Trump’s foreign policy move as a point of criticism. Some Republicans have also expressed unease. 

Georgia lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal Trump supporter in the past, wrote on social media: “This is what many in MAGA thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong.” Input from Reuters.