Following US President Donald Trump’s announcement that Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez was “just sworn in” as president following the capture of Nicolas Maduro, Reuters reports that the Venezuelan government has not confirmed the swearing-in.
Rodriguez’s whereabouts remain uncertain, with some sources claiming she was in Russia – a report denied by Russian state media.
Trump said the U.S. would administer Venezuela for the foreseeable future and that Rodriguez expressed a willingness to do “what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Delcy Rodriguez: Background and Political Career
Rodriguez, 56, was born in Caracas on May 18, 1969, the daughter of leftist guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, founder of the revolutionary party Liga Socialista in the 1970s. Maduro, known for her strong defense of Maduro’s socialist government, referred to her as a “tiger”.
She works closely with her brother Jorge Rodriguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and has held several key positions in the government. From 2013 to 2014, she served as Minister of Communications and Information, from 2014 to 2017 as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 2017 the head of the pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro’s powers.
Rodriguez was named vice president in June 2018 and Maduro praised her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, a revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles”. In August 2024, she was additionally tasked with overseeing the oil ministry and managing escalating US sanctions against Venezuela’s most critical industry.
Economic influence and expertise
Rodriguez has simultaneously held the roles of vice president, finance minister and oil minister, making her a central figure in the management of Venezuela’s struggling economy. It applied orthodox economic policies to combat hyperinflation and was influential in shaping interactions with the private sector.
Education and personal life
A trained lawyer, Rodriguez graduated from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Known for her penchant for designer fashion, she has rapidly risen through the political ranks over the past decade, establishing herself as one of Venezuela’s most prominent political figures.
Recent activity
Amid the current political crisis, Rodriguez released an audio message calling on the US to provide proof of the lives of Maduro and his wife, although her exact whereabouts remain unknown.
