Who is Delcy Rodriguez, the current vice president of Venezuela?

Following President Nicolas Maduro's kidnapping by the United States, there was a brief power vacuum in Venezuela due to the sudden disarray and confusion.

However, US President Donald Trump announced that Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, 56, had been sworn in as interim president shortly after the US military dropped bombs on Caracas and other areas on Saturday. This was an unexpected slight to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who received last year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The US president claimed that Machado, a right-wing politician who had become close to Trump, lacked the "respect" or backing necessary to lead Venezuela. This was especially true when Machado won the Nobel Prize in October, an accolade she dedicated to him.

According to Trump, Rodriguez was "essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again" after speaking with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump continued, "I think she was quite gracious." "We cannot risk someone else taking over Venezuela without considering the welfare of the Venezuelan people."

Rodriguez, however, made very different statements shortly after the strikes and kidnapping: she demanded Maduro's immediate release and denounced the US military operation as "brutal aggression."

On state television, Rodriguez boldly declared, surrounded by senior military and civilian leaders, "There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolas Maduro."

So who is Venezuela's acting president at the moment?

origins of revolution

Rodriguez was born on May 18, 1969, in Caracas. Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, a left-wing rebel warrior who started the Socialist League party in the 1970s, is her father. Many activists of the time, including a young Maduro, were shaken by the 1976 murder of her father while he was being tortured in police custody. As the leader of the National Assembly, Rodriguez's brother Jorge also plays a significant role in the government.

After graduating from the Central University of Venezuela, she became an attorney and quickly advanced up the political levels during the last ten years. Rodriguez has a long history of defending what the late President Hugo Chavez referred to as his socialist "revolution" on the international front; those who continue his legacy are known as Chavistas.

From 2013 to 2014, she was the minister of communication and information; from 2014 to 2017, she was the foreign minister; and in 2017, she led a pro-government Constituent Assembly that increased Maduro's authority.

Economic aptitude

Compared to many of the troops who joined Chavez in the 1990s, Rodriguez is sometimes seen as more moderate.

Rodriguez's dual positions as vice president and minister of finance and oil have elevated her to a pivotal position in the administration of Venezuela's economy and given her significant influence over the nation's stagnant private sector. In an attempt to combat hyperinflation, she has implemented conventional economic policies.

In August 2024, Maduro expanded Rodriguez's responsibilities to include the oil ministry, giving her the responsibility of overseeing the intensifying US sanctions on Venezuela's most significant industry.

Rodriguez formed close relationships with Republicans on Wall Street and in the US oil business who opposed the idea of a US-led overhaul of Venezuela's government.

Erik Prince, the founder of the Blackwater security firm, and Richard Grenell, a Trump special envoy who attempted to reach an agreement with Maduro for more US involvement in Venezuela, were among her previous contacts.

A "tiger"

Maduro has referred to Rodriguez as a "tiger" for her fervent advocacy of his socialist regime, despite the fact that she is seen as more moderate.

Maduro called her "a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles" when she was appointed vice president in June 2018.

Following Maduro's kidnapping on Saturday, Rodriguez was outspoken in his criticism of the US government's conduct and demanded proof of life for both Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

"We urge the people of the great nation to stay together because anyone can be affected by what happened to Venezuela. In a speech that was shown on the state television network VTV, she stated, "That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country."

Later on Saturday, Rodriguez was appointed interim president by the Supreme Court of Venezuela's Constitutional Chamber.

Rodriguez will take "the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation," according to the court's ruling.