Merely a couple of days after the abduction and detention of President Nicholas Maduro by U.S. Special Forces, Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as the Acting President of Venezuela in surreal circumstances. U.S. President Donald Trump backed Ms. Rodriguez over the claims of Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado, whom he called “not respected” despite her saying everything in favour of Mr. Trump and his imperialist actions.

Mr. Trump’s “endorsement” of Ms. Rodriguez as Washington’s preferred interlocutor reveals the contradictions at the heart of Venezuela’s new political reality. On January 5, when her brother Jorge, President of the National Assembly, administered the presidential oath, Ms. Rodriguez delivered a defiant inaugural address condemning the “kidnapping” of Mr. Maduro, the country’s “legitimate President”.

Yet, she also extended an invitation to Washington for a “cooperation agenda” and “shared development”—clearly indicating pragmatic priorities during an economic crisis exacerbated by the U.S’s naval blockade.

Mr. Trump had tacitly accepted her interim authority, heeding the CIA’s suggestion that the Bolivarian state apparatus was more cohesive and capable during the crisis. Yet, he later issued threats that should she deviate from his expectations, she could be the next potential target. For Ms. Rodriguez, this U.S. imperialist conjuncture represents a difficult choice. She must navigate Venezuela from imminent economic collapse while managing the interests of the Chavista rearguard and a restive military establishment bristling at attacks on national sovereignty.

The 56-year-old Ms. Rodriguez’s ascension reflects recognition, both by the Chavistas and the U.S. invaders, of her ability to manage mutually contradictory positions at a difficult moment. It is a role the lawyer-turned-diplomat has played over years shaped by tragedy, revolutionary ideology and pragmatism.

Ms. Rodriguez’s father Jorge Antonio Rodriguez, a founder of the Marxist Socialist League, died from custodial torture when she was seven, after being arrested in connection with a corporate executive’s kidnapping. Within the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the siblings are seen as inheritors of an ideological outlook represented by their deceased father, unlike Mr. Maduro who rose through trade union activism or Diosdado Cabello, Hugo Chavez’s compatriot with a military and political legacy. Mr. Cabello controls the PSUV’s radical wing and organisation.

Ms. Rodriguez is, however, no mere ideologue, combining her activism from student days with training in Europe that has enabled her to navigate diplomatic circles in New York and Geneva. This helped her exercise technocratic authoritarianism especially as the Maduro administration moved away from the charismatic populism of the Chavez era.

Face of diplomacy

Between 2014 and 2017, as Foreign Minister, Ms. Rodriguez became the face of Venezuelan diplomacy during its most confrontational period, when she withdrew Venezuela from the Organization of American States, which she characterised as a “Ministry of Colonies” under U.S. hegemony.

As Executive Vice-President from 2018 to earlier this week, Ms. Rodriguez managed Venezuela’s economy and guided it to a more manageable crisis after the disaster of 2017, with hyperinflation, lack of essential goods, poor oil production and massive out-migration. She maintained radical rhetoric while implementing market-friendly reforms that allowed contracts to Venezuelan business classes to circumvent U.S. sanctions, permitting de facto dollarisation—measures the government said were necessary to fight an “economic war” launched by the U.S.

These measures, while helping the economy stage a moderate recovery, also created a dual economy where Venezuela’s elite could access goods in dollars while the majority struggled with a hyperinflated bolivar. Her endorsement of the Anti-Blockade Law, which permitted confidential transfer of oil production assets to private contractors, created tensions within the PSUV and with leftist allies. By 2024, the electorate seemed tired of economic challenges. Mr Maduro managed to retain power only by dubious means in the 2024 elections.

The challenges Ms. Rodriguez faces are greater than before. The U.S. demands economic capitulation and handover of Venezuela’s assets, which will be strongly resisted by the Chavistas. She must balance the interests of the military establishment, to whom Mr. Maduro had ceded control of key economic institutions to consolidate power.

Two factors may offer limited room for manoeuvre. First, the lack of unanimous support for full-scale invasion among Mr. Trump’s MAGA base, which partly explains his “endorsement” of her interim authority over regime change. Second, Chavistas recognise that further escalation could trigger complete economic collapse and loss of popular support.

Yet, the situation is also volatile. With the Trump administration featuring hardline Latin American emigré descendants like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a Venezuelan opposition elite long determined to reclaim power by any means necessary, Ms. Rodriguez must navigate an increasingly narrow path between capitulation and confrontation.

Published – January 11, 2026 01:21 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump. FIle
| Photo Credit: AP