BREAKING: Venezuela's Supreme Court appoints Delcy Rodríguez as acting president

1. What the court said and why: a legal cover for continuity

Venezuela’s Supreme Court, through its Constitutional Chamber, issued an order for Executive Vice‑President Delcy Rodríguez to immediately assume the presidency, citing the “kidnapping” of Maduro and an “exceptional, atypical and force majeure” situation that, in the court’s view, required urgent constitutional certainty to guarantee state continuity and defense of the nation ^[2]; Reuters similarly reported the court’s direction that Rodríguez assume the role in Maduro’s absence ^[1].

2. What happened to Maduro — the trigger for the decision

Multiple outlets report that Maduro was detained early on Jan. 3 in an operation carried out by U.S. forces, a development that Venezuelan institutions described as foreign aggression precipitating the court’s action ^{[1] [3] [2]}; U.S. officials and President Donald Trump publicly linked the seizure to U.S. action, which in turn was cited in some reporting as the factual basis for the Supreme Court’s emergency ruling ^[5].

3. Rodríguez’s claim to authority and international reaction

As vice‑president since 2018, Rodríguez is the constitutional successor cited under Article 233 and was presented by Venezuelan state media and the TSJ as the necessary interim leader to preserve order — a narrative pushed by state outlets and confirmed in Reuters, The Guardian and other international reports ^{[6] [1] [3]}. The New York Times reported she was sworn in as interim president according to U.S. statements, while she publicly condemned the U.S. seizure and insisted Maduro remained the “only president,” highlighting competing narratives of legitimacy ^{[4] [7]}.

4. Credibility, sanctions and political context around Rodríguez

Rodríguez is a long‑time Maduro ally who has held senior posts including the vice‑presidency and, by 2024, the petroleum portfolio; she and other senior officials have been the subject of sanctions from the EU, U.S. and Canada, according to background reporting ^{[5] [8]}. That institutional proximity to Maduro’s inner circle, and the TSJ’s rapid decree, will shape how domestic opponents and foreign governments judge the legitimacy of her interim role ^[8].

5. Conflicting reports and uncertain details to watch

Several points remain unresolved in the available reporting: different outlets note Rodríguez was “sworn in” per U.S. accounts while Venezuelan institutions framed the TSJ order as a domestic constitutional remedy ^{[4] [2]}; reports also emerged suggesting Rodríguez might be outside the country (a report claiming she was possibly in Russia), leaving questions about where executive control is physically exercised and by whom ^[9]. Some sources cited—such as Pravda variants—repeat the court’s decision but have known editorial slants, underscoring the need to triangulate claims ^{[10] [11]}.

6. Stakes and competing agendas

The TSJ’s move serves two clear purposes in state messaging: to project continuity of government and to delegitimize the U.S. operation as foreign aggression, while U.S. public statements framing Maduro’s capture and naming an interim authority reflect a very different agenda about the acceptable pathway for regime change or transition ^{[2] [5]}. Independent and international actors will weigh constitutional texts, the practical control of state institutions, and the impact of sanctions and diplomatic recognition in deciding whether to accept Rodríguez as acting president ^{[6] [8]}.