Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, two days after US 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 she did so “in the name of all Venezuelans.” She has hinted she will cooperate with Washington. She had been serving as the vice president of the nation since 2018.Rodriguez was already effectively running the country since Maduro’s capture on Saturday. She initially said that Venezuela would “never again be anyone’s colony.” By Sunday evening, she dialled down her tone and issued a statement inviting the US government “to work jointly on an agenda of cooperation, aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and that strengthens lasting peaceful coexistence.”Addressing President Donald Trump directly, Rodriguez said: “President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been President Nicolás Maduro’s conviction and it is that of all 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 US forces and taken to New York, where they pleaded not guilty on drug and weapons charges in a federal court on Monday. The Supreme Court of Venezuela had sworn Rodriguez in as president on Saturday, and the country’s armed forces formally recognised her authority the next day, while still demanding the immediate release of Maduro and his wife at the same time.US President Donald Trump warned that Rodriguez could “pay a very big price” if she did not comply with his orders. He added that the US would now “run” Venezuela and hinted at a possible second strike if remaining members of Maduro’s administration refuse to cooperate with Washington. US secretary of state later clarified Trump’s position that US will only create an oil blockade in Venezuela and does not want total hold and governance of the Latin American country.Furthermore, the situation sidelined Venezuela’s democratic opposition, which is led by Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado. Machado had dedicated her Peace Prize to Trump after winning it last year. A lot of Venezuelans have been celebrating Maduro’s downfall, but many remain cautious due to the alarming number of arrests of people who opposed the ousted leader.The American forces last week carried out Operation Absolute Resolve, in which they conducted coordinated strikes across key locations in Caracas, killing dozens.
