Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez takes over after Maduro capture

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks to the media during a news conference in Caracas March 25, 2015. Venezuela's socialist government said on Wednesday it has collected more than three million signatures asking U.S. President Barack Obama to repeal measures declaring the South American country a security threat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows the way to his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, May 27, 2015.

Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov (R) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Delcy Rodriguez during their meeting in Astana on Jan. 16, 2015.

Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs Delcy Rodr’guez (R) speaks during a press conference following a meeting with US Charge d'Affairs to Venezuela Lee McClenny in Caracas on March 2, 2015. Venezuela granted the United States 15 days to submit a plan to reduce the number of staff at its embassy in Caracas, Rodriguez announced.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the Organization of American States (OAS) 47th General Assembly in Cancun, Mexico on June 20, 2017.

(L to R) Members of the Constituent Assembly Cilia Flores, Delcy Rodriguez, Diosdado Cabello and Aristobulo Isturiz pose with a picture of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during the Assembly's installation at the National Congress in Caracas on Aug. 4, 2017. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro installed a powerful new assembly packed with his allies, dismissing an international outcry and opposition protests saying he is burying democracy in his crisis-hit country.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C) his wife Cilia Flores (R) and Constituent Assembly president Delcy Rodriguez arrive at the Congress in Caracas for the Presidential inauguration ceremony, on May 24, 2018.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, next to Venezuelan Vice-president Delcy Rodriguez signs at a balcony at Miraflores Presidential Palace, a document through which his government breaks off diplomatic ties with the United States, during a gathering in Caracas on Jan. 23, 2019. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro announced on Wednesday he was breaking off diplomatic ties with the United States after counterpart Donald Trump acknowledged opposition leader Juan Guaido as the South American country's "interim president."

Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez raises her fist as she arrives to address the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States.

Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez exits the stage after addressing the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters on Sept. 27, 2019 in New York City. World leaders from across the globe are gathered at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, amid crises ranging from climate change to possible conflict between Iran and the United States.

Russian Ambassador in Venezuela Sergey MŽlik-Bagdas‡rov (L) fist bumps Vice president of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez (R) after he addressed to the media as the first batch of 100,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines arrive at Simon Bolivar International Airport on Feb. 13, 2021 in Maiquetia, Venezuela. This batch of the Sputnik V vaccine (Gam-Covid-Vac) is part of a batch of 10 million doses. The Minister of Health has announced the first to receive the vaccine will be frontline health workers treating COVID-19 patients.

President of Venezuela Nicol‡s Maduro (C) greets the audience alongside Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez (L) and Foreign Minister of Venezuela Yvan Gil (R) during an official meeting with international observers at La Carlota ahead of the presidential elections on July 27, 2024 in Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelans will go to the polls for the presidential election on July 28. Nicolas Maduro, current president, and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez will run for the presidency.

Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during the Antifascist Global Parliamentary Forum in Caracas on Nov. 5, 2024.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (2nd R) waves next to First Lady Cilia Flores, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez (L) and the president of the National Assembly Jorge Rodriguez on arrival at the Capitolio -house of the National Assembly- for the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. Maduro, in power since 2013, will take the oath of office for a third term despite a global outcry that brought thousands out in protest on the ceremony's eve.

On July 28, 2025, in Caracas, Venezuela, then-Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, wearing a T-shirt with the image of the late President Hugo Chávez, waves during the commemoration of his birth. In January 2026, Rodríguez became the acting president after the U.S. military seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from their home.

Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks during a press conference in Caracas on Sept. 8, 2025. Venezuela called the drug trafficking accusations made by the United States against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a "big farce" and said they were "yet another attempt to criminalize" the government.

Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez speaks past portraits of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the liberator Simon Bolivar during the presentation of the 2026 fiscal year budget at the National Congress in Caracas on Dec. 4, 2025. The Venezuelan government presented its budget for 2026 on December 4, 2025, which, calculated in dollars, is 12% less than the budget approved for 2025, while denouncing "a Dantesque deployment" of US military forces in the Caribbean.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, flanked by his wife Cilia Flores and National Constituent Assembly President Delcy Rodriguez, arrives for a special session of the National Constituent Assembly to take oath as re-elected President at the Palacio Federal Legislativo in Caracas, Venezuela May 24, 2018.

Delcy Rodriguez is sworn in as acting president of Venezuela, pledging loyalty to Maduro and to Chavez in Caracas on Jan. 5, 2026. Venezuela’s vice president and oil minister was formally sworn in on Monday as interim president, following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in a US operation over the weekend. Maduro and Flores were captured in an early-morning operation on Saturday by US forces, subsequently flown out of the country and to New York, where they stood trial in an initial hearing over drug and weapons charges.

Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez reacts after being sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela during the inaugural session for the 2026-2031 Legislative Constitutional Period at Palacio Federal Legislativo on Jan. 5, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela. Two days after Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas by the US forces the National Assembly confirmed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Acting President.

Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez stands next to Deputy Nicolas Maduro Guerra and Deputy Jorge Rodriguez after being sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela during the inaugural session for the 2026-2031 Legislative Constitutional Period at Palacio Federal Legislativo on Jan. 5, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela. Two days after Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas by the US forces the National Assembly confirmed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as Acting President.