Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, two days after U.S. forces captured her predecessor Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores to face trial in New York. Rodriguez took the oath in the National Assembly, telling lawmakers that she did so “on behalf of all Venezuelans.” She has indicated she will work with Washington. She has been the country’s vice president since 2018.Rodriguez has been running the country since Maduro’s capture on Saturday. She began by saying Venezuela would “never be anyone’s colony again.” On Sunday evening, she toned down her tone and released a statement calling on the US government to “work together on a cooperation agenda aimed at common development within the framework of international law and strengthening lasting peaceful coexistence.”Addressing President Donald Trump directly, Rodriguez said: “President Donald Trump: Our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been the belief of President Nicolás Maduro and is that of all of Venezuela at this moment. This is the Venezuela I believe in and to which I have dedicated my life. My dream is for Venezuela to become a great power where all decent Venezuelans can come together. Venezuela has the right to peace, development, sovereignty and a future.”Rodriguez’s rise followed a series of extraordinary events. Maduro and Flores were captured by U.S. forces and taken to New York, where they pleaded not guilty in federal court on Monday to drug and weapons charges. Venezuela’s Supreme Court sworn in Rodriguez as president on Saturday, and the country’s armed forces formally recognized her authority the next day, while demanding the immediate release of Maduro and his wife.US President Donald Trump warned that Rodriguez “could pay a very high price” if she did not follow his orders. He added that the US would now “rule” Venezuela and hinted at a possible second attack if the remaining members of the Maduro government refused to cooperate with Washington. The US Secretary of State later clarified Trump’s position that the US would only establish an oil blockade in Venezuela and does not want complete control and rule over the Latin American country.In addition, the situation has sidelined Venezuela’s democratic opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado. Machado dedicated her peace prize to Trump after winning it last year. Many Venezuelans have celebrated Maduro’s ouster, but many remain cautious due to the alarming number of arrests of those opposed to the ousted leader.Last week, American forces conducted Operation Absolute Resolve, carrying out coordinated attacks on key locations in Caracas, killing dozens of people.
