Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro was ousted by the United States on the 3rd local time, and, under the local constitution, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez succeeded him. Rodríguez, who is serving as vice president and acting president, comes from a deeply rooted leftist family and has been one of Maduro's closest aides.
On the 4th local time, Acting President Rodríguez said on Instagram that "Venezuela reaffirms its will for peace and peaceful coexistence," and proposed to the U.S. government, "Let's jointly pursue a cooperation agenda that aims for shared development within the framework of international law." Earlier, Rodríguez had strongly pushed back against the United States, saying "Venezuela will not become a colony of any country, and the only president of Venezuela is Maduro," but reversed course in less than a day under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who said, "If you do not do the right thing, you will pay a higher price than Maduro."
Rodríguez, 56, is a politician with a background as a lawyer, and former and current officials and U.S. government official have described Rodríguez as a "ruthless and calculating political operator." Rodríguez is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a dissident who led a leftist revolutionary movement; Jorge was arrested for orchestrating the 1976 kidnapping of William Niehous, an executive of a U.S. corporations, and died in custody.
Before entering politics, Rodríguez worked as a professor at the Central University of Venezuela and served as president of the Venezuelan Labor Lawyers Association, and then began building a political career in 2003 under the Hugo Chávez administration. Under the Maduro administration, which succeeded Chávez, Rodríguez continued a rapid rise, reportedly reaching the pinnacle of power over 10 years by serving as Minister of information and communications, Minister of foreign affairs, and Minister of finance before becoming vice president. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Rodríguez has maintained a lavish lifestyle, favoring luxury shoes and bags.
Rodríguez's brother, Jorge Jesús Rodríguez, is also one of Maduro's closest aides and is credited with greatly contributing to his sister's political success. A former psychiatrist, he served as Venezuela's vice president for a year starting in 2007 and has served as president of the National Assembly of Venezuela since 2021, earning Maduro's full confidence. Last year's presidential election, in which Maduro won and which sparked allegations of electoral fraud, was also reportedly carried out under Jorge's leadership.
Andrés Izarra, a former Venezuela information Minister who is now in exile, said of the siblings that they are "extremely calculating and will employ every tactic to remain in power as long as possible."
Meanwhile, with President Trump signaling a transfer of power to Acting President Rodríguez, some say Venezuela's opposition has been cornered. The United States announced it would run Venezuela in cooperation with Vice President Rodríguez until stabilization, leaving those who had expressed intentions to succeed to power with no room to stand.
Earlier, on the day of the invasion, President Trump expressed distrust of María Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition leader and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, saying, "She is an excellent figure, but she does not have domestic support," and "She will not be elected without my backing."