Venezuela’s Supreme Court late on Saturday (January 3, 2026) ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to become the country’s interim President, after the United States seized President Nicolas Maduro and whisked him out of the country.
The Court ruled that Ms. Rodriguez “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 defense of the nation.”
The judges stopped short of declaring Mr. Maduro permanently absent from office, a ruling that requires holding elections within 30 days.
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Ms. Rodriguez is a lawyer who graduated from the Central University of Venezuela in 1993. She also has served as a professor at the Central University of Venezuela. She was also the president of the union within the Venezuelan Association of Labour Lawyers.
