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Following the detention of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro by a U.S. Delta Force special operations unit, uncertainty has emerged over who will exercise governing authority in the country. There is currently no single, agreed answer.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would administer Venezuela until it can ensure a “safe, proper and prudent transition of power,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
“We will run the country until we can carry out a safe, correct and lawful transfer of power. We do not want anyone else stepping into the situation. We will govern the country,” Trump said.
Maduro’s deputy claims authority
Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has assumed presidential duties, declaring that Maduro remains the country’s “only president,” according to Reuters.
In a nationally televised address in Spanish, Rodriguez called for “calm” and “unity” to defend the country amid what she described as Maduro’s “kidnapping,” and insisted that Venezuela would never become a “colony” of any nation.
Rodriguez spoke from Caracas alongside her brother, National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodriguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and the ministers of foreign affairs and defense. Trump, however, told a briefing that Delcy Rodriguez had allegedly promised U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio she would cooperate with the United States.
Opposition urges readiness
Venezuelan opposition leader, Nobel laureate and political exile Maria Corina Machado said on social media that “the time of freedom has come” for Venezuela.
She stated that Maduro would face international justice for crimes committed during his rule and said the United States had pledged to uphold the rule of law after Maduro refused negotiations.
Machado recognizes Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate president and commander-in-chief following the July 28 election. She urged Venezuelans inside the country and abroad to be prepared for a democratic transition of power.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. However, years under a pro-Russian, far-left authoritarian regime have left it among the poorest countries in Latin America.
