The Venezuelan parliament has sworn in Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as interim president on Monday, two days after US forces seized her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, to face trial bordering on terrorism and narcotics in New York.
According to Reuters, Rodriguez, a 56-year-old labour lawyer known for close connections to the private sector and her devotion to the ruling party, was sworn in by her brother Jorge, who is the head of the national assembly legislature.
According to Rodriguez, who has indicated she will cooperate with Washington, took the oath of office during a ceremony in the National Assembly, telling lawmakers she did so “in the name of all Venezuelans.”
She said she was “in pain over the kidnapping of our heroes, the hostages in the United States,” referring to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who face drug charges along with other Venezuelan officials.
TVC News previously reported that the Venezuelan Supreme Court has ordered Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the country’s interim leadership, after the United States captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife early Saturday.
The high court ruled that Rodríguez “assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributes, duties and powers inherent to the office of President to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the nation.”
The court ruling stated that Rodríguez will assume “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defence of the Nation.”
The ruling added that the court will debate the matter in order to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.”
Trump had declared during a press briefing on Saturday, following the successful arrest of Maduro that the US would run Venezuela until a leadership transition could be organised.
