Who is Delcy Rodriguez, the woman leading Venezuela after Nicolas Maduro’s capture?

After the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, the spotlight is now on Delcy Rodriguez. Venezuela’s Supreme Court had ordered the vice president to immediately assume and exercise all presidential powers in an acting capacity.

Rodriguez had earlier said that Maduro remained the country’s only president despite his capture by US forces. However, her comments contradicted US President Donald Trump‘s remarks, who said Rodriguez had been “sworn in” as president and was “willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again”. Trump also added that the US would be running the South American nation in the immediate future.

Here is what we know about Delcy Rodriguez, who is at the helm of Venezuela as it plunges into uncertainty.

Who is Delcy Rodriguez?

Delcy Rodriguez was born in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on May 18, 1969. She is the daughter of left-wing guerrilla fighter Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, who founded the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s. She studied law at the Central University of Venezuela.

The 56-year-old has spent more than two decades as one of the influential figures of chavismo, the political movement founded by former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Maduro, who is also a follower of chavismo, has led it since the death of Chavez in 2013.

More from Explainers

The story of Nicolas Maduro: From bus driver to strongman to ‘narco-terrorist’ 'Captured' Venezuelan president Maduro, wife taken to New York to face US charges

Decly Rodriguez has worked closely with her brother Jorge Rodriguez, who heads the national assembly legislature. She has held various positions in power in the country, serving as the communication and information minister from 2014 to 2017. She then took charge of the foreign ministry until 2017, defending the Venezuelan government as it faced international criticism over human rights abuses and election fraud.

As foreign minister, she attempted to crash a Mercosur trade bloc meeting in Buenos Aires, following Venezuela’s suspension from the group.

In 2017, Rodriguez began serving as the head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly, which expanded Maduro’s powers following the opposition’s win in the 2015 legislative election. In 2018, Maduro appointed her as her vice president in his second term. In a post on X, he described her as “a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles”.

Editor’s Picks

1

Spies, airstrikes and blowtorches… How US forces tracked and captured Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro 2

Udaipur Tales International Storytelling Festival Announces Star-Studded Lineup for its 7th Edition

She retained the post during Maduro’s third presidential term, which began on January 10, 2025, following the controversial July 2024 elections. The Venezuelan opposition claimed that the polls were fraudulent and that Maduro was not elected as the country’s leader. It insists that the election was won by Ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia, a position supported by some governments in the region, according to a report in CNN.

However, through all this, Rodriguez has been a constant in Maduro’s reign. He called her a “tiger” for her diehard defence of his socialist government.

Until the president was captured, she also served as Venezuela’s chief economic authority and minister of petroleum. In August 2024, Maduro added the oil ministry to Rodriguez’s portfolio, where she has been tasked with managing escalating US sanctions on the country’s most important industry.

She became a key figure in the management of Venezuela’s economy and gained major influence with the country’s withered private sector. She has applied orthodox economic policies in a bid to fight exaggerated inflation, reports Reuters.

José Manuel Romano, a constitutional lawyer and political analyst, told CNN that Rodriguez enjoys the Venezuelan president’s “full trust.” “She is very results-oriented and has significant influence over the entire government apparatus, including the Ministry of Defence. That is very important to note in the current circumstances,” he added.

How has Delcy Rodriguez reacted to Maduro’s capture?

After US forces struck Venezuela and captured Maduro, flying him out of the country, the reign of the South American nation has fallen into the hands of Delcy Rodriguez. According to the Venezuelan constitution, the vice president takes over presidential duties in the temporary and absolute absence of the president.

Hours after Maduro was apprehended along with his wife, Cilia Flores, the Venezuelan vice president chaired a National Defence Council session attended by other ministers and senior officials. She demanded the “immediate release” of the Venezuelan president and first lady, as she criticised the US military operation.

In an address which was broadcast by the state television channel VTV, Rodriguez was seen standing before the Venezuelan flag and saying, “We call on the peoples of the great homeland to remain united, because what was done to Venezuela can be done to anyone. That brutal use of force to bend the will of the people can be carried out against any country.”

She said that the US operation was a blatant violation of international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, adding that it must be rejected by Venezuelans and condemned by governments across Latin America, according to the CNN report.

What’s in store for Delcy Rodriguez?

Trump said the US will “run the country” until a “judicious transition” can happen in Venezuela. He had told reporters earlier that the US was working with the Venezuelan vice president.

Before Rodríguez addressed the National Defence Council, the US president said in a press conference that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with the vice president, and she appeared willing to work with Washington on a new phase for Venezuela.

“She had a conversation with Marco. She said, ‘We’re going to do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite courteous. We’re going to do this right,” Trump claimed.

However, political analysts believe that Rodríguez is unlikely to back down and cooperate with the US.

During a phone interview with VTV, Rodríguez said the whereabouts of Maduro and Flores were unknown and demanded proof that they were alive. Later on Saturday afternoon, during the National Defence Council session, she condemned the US action.

Rodriguez is in Russia, four sources familiar with her movements said on Saturday, according to a report by Reuters. However, the Russian foreign ministry firmly rejected the reports, describing the claims by certain outlets as “fake news,” according to TASS.

For now, Delcy Rodriguez remains the most powerful person in crisis-hit Venezuela.

Imdat Oner, a policy analyst at the Jack D Gordon Institute and a former Turkish diplomat based in Venezuela, told CNN, “Her rise to power appears to be the result of some kind of understanding between the United States and key actors preparing for a post-Maduro scenario. In that context, she would essentially serve as a caretaker until a democratically elected leader takes office.”

With inputs from agencies