Venezuela: Rodríguez is in as acting president

Venezuela’s National Assembly inaugurated Delcy Rodríguez – who has served as vice president since 2018 – as acting president on Monday, an overt signal that she’s won the regime’s blessing for her political takeover despite her conciliatory gestures to the US.

The biggest public endorsement came from Nicolás Maduro’s own son, who said he would “unconditionally support” her.

Nicolás Maduro Guerra’s comments mark his first public backing of Rodríguez, who US President Donald Trump has said would work with Washington to “make Venezuela great again”. Maduro Guerra spoke during the installation of Venezuela’s National Assembly in Caracas on Monday.

“To you, Delcy, my unconditional support. Count on me and my family,” Maduro Guerra said, after tearfully describing what he called difficult hours for his family.

After initially describing Maduro’s capture by US forces as “barbaric”, Rodriguez struck a more conciliatory tone late on Sunday, asking the US to work with her country on a cooperation agenda.

Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy’s brother, said she would be sworn in “later on Monday” after he was reinstated as head of the assembly for a sixth consecutive annual term.

Her imminent installation comes just days after Maduro was seized by US forces and flown to New York, a move that plunged the oil-rich country into political uncertainty and intensified scrutiny of Washington’s intentions.

Maduro Guerra, 34, has served in the National Assembly since 2021 and was sworn in for a new legislative term on Monday.

Often referred to as “Nicolasito”, he is Maduro’s only son and has frequently been seen alongside him at political rallies and public events.

The ruling party has promoted him as part of a younger generation of leaders where he has largely focused on religious affairs.

Maduro Guerra echoed Delcy Rodríguez’s call for foreign investment based on respect. He said he’d had indirect communication with his father.

While the parliamentary session was under way, Maduro supporters took to the streets for a second consecutive day to protest his capture.

The only absent lawmaker among the 285 elected last year was Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores, whose empty seat and name were shown on state television.

Ruling party lawmakers appeared largely sombre, though many flashed victory signs and raised clenched fists in a show of resistance. Longtime Maduro allies, including his right-hand man Juan Escalona, received visible gestures of support from colleagues.

What happens next?

Venezuela’s constitution – dating to 1999 at the dawn of the socialist era spearheaded by late presidential icon Hugo Chávez – offers different scenarios depending on how Venezuelan authorities classify Maduro’s removal from office.

In a ruling issued Sunday, the country’s rubber-stamp Supreme Tribunal of Justice indicated it is treating the episode as a temporary forced absence, a designation that preserves the existing government structure while starting a constitutional clock until elections are convened.

Under that framework, Rodríguez may exercise executive authority for up to 90 days, extending the interim period into April.

The constitution allows for a single 90-day extension, which would push the deadline to July and force lawmakers to decide whether Maduro’s absence has become permanent.

If the National Assembly declares an absolute absence during the first year of Maduro’s current term, the national charter requires a new presidential election within 30 days, opening the door to a vote as early as August if lawmakers move quickly to formalise his removal.

Members of the new assembly were elected in an early vote in May 2025, amid widespread disappointment and fear among voters. Most of the opposition, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado, boycotted, arguing it was an attempt to eclipse Maduro’s July 2024 reelection, which was widely deemed to have been fraudulent.

The opposition says Machado’s stand-in candidate Edmundo González won by a landslide.

A more dovish faction of the opposition, including former governor and two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, chose to participate in the parliamentary vote and a subsequent regional election. That group secured fewer than 20 seats, far short of the numbers needed to influence legislation. Another opposition bloc widely viewed as aligned with the government won 13 seats. The assembly has 285 members.

© 2026 Bloomberg

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