Venezuela’s parliament swore in Rodriguez as interim president on Monday, two days after US forces seized her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, to face trial in New York
Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has said that interim president Delcy Rodriguez is a “main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran. Certainly not an individual that could be trusted by international investors, and she’s rejected the Venezuelan People.”
Venezuela’s parliament swore in Rodriguez as interim president on Monday, two days after US forces seized her predecessor, Nicolas Maduro, to face trial in New York.
Rodriguez, who has indicated she will cooperate with Washington, took the oath of office during a ceremony in the National Assembly, telling lawmakers she was doing so “in the name of all Venezuelans.”
Speaking during an exclusive interview tonight with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says that she has not spoken to President Donald J. Trump since the capture Saturday of Nicolás Maduro, stating that Vice President, now Interim… pic.twitter.com/m2UZHEKPWn
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 6, 2026
She said she was “in pain over the kidnapping of our heroes, the hostages in the United States,” referring to Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who face drug charges in New York with other Venezuelan officials.
Parliament denounced the capture of leftist leader Maduro while vowing support for his stand-in, Rodriguez, after the US military attack that shocked Caracas and the world.
Outside the legislature, thousands of Venezuelans gathered to demand the release of their leader, chanting: “Maduro, hold on: Venezuela is rising!”
“Regardless of whether Nicolas Maduro has something to answer for in court, this was not the way to do it,” protestor Flur Alberto, 32, told AFP.
Inside, meanwhile, members of the National Assembly offered their full backing to Rodriguez – who had been Maduro’s vice president – and reelected her brother Jorge Rodriguez as parliament speaker.
As Monday’s session opened, lawmakers chanted: “Let’s go Nico!” – a slogan of Maduro’s presidential campaign ahead of 2024 elections that were widely denounced by the opposition and dozens of global capitals, including Washington, as fraudulent.
With inputs from AFP
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