Venezuela’s Supreme Court on Saturday named Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez as the country’s interim leader following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
The court ruled that Rodríguez should “assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of President to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation.”
The ruling said Rodríguez will take on “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation.”
It added that the court will debate the matter to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the state, the administration of government, and the defence of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.”
Here is what to know about the interim President
1. Rodríguez is 56 years old and was born on May 18, 1969, in Caracas.
2. She is the daughter of guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, founder of the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s.
3. Rodríguez began her government career in 2003 with the General Coordination of the Vice Presidency.4. She served as Minister for Presidential Affairs from February to August 2006 under Hugo Chávez.
5. Rodríguez served as Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information from 2013 to 2014, and as Minister of Foreign Relations from December 2014.
6. She was awarded the Military Order of National Defence, Commander Degree, First Class, in June 2016.
7. She works closely with her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who is the head of the national assembly legislature.
8. Rodríguez has served as finance and oil minister while holding her vice-presidential post, giving her influence over Venezuela’s economy and private sector.
She has applied orthodox economic policies to fight inflation.
9. She is an attorney who graduated from Universidad Central de Venezuela and served as the Communication and Information Minister from 2013 to 2014.
10. Rodríguez was the foreign minister from 2014 to 2017.
During this time, she attempted to attend a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires after Venezuela’s suspension from the group.
She became head of the Constituent Assembly in 2017, which expanded Maduro’s powers.
11. Rodríguez was named vice president in June 2018, with Maduro announcing the appointment on X, describing her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles.”
12. In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to Rodríguez’s responsibilities, tasking her with managing U.S. sanctions on the sector.