Particle.news
Download on the App Store
130 ARTICLES
·
4w ago

Venezuelan Military Backs Rodríguez as Acting President After U.S. Seizes Maduro

The succession move consolidates power around Maduro’s vice president following his transfer to U.S. custody.

Image
Venezuela's Vice-President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, March 10, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo
FILE - Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, left, smiles at Venezuelan Defense Minister Padrino Lopez, as they take the route that the body of late President Hugo Chavez was transported to his final resting place, during the activities marking the 10th anniversary of Chavez's death, in Caracas, Venezuela, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
Venezuela's Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Caracas, Venezuela August 11, 2025. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa

Overview

  • Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived in New York to face U.S. federal narcotics-related charges, according to authorities.
  • Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the presidency for 90 days, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the armed forces recognize her.
  • President Trump said the United States will run Venezuela during a transition and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has spoken at length with Rodríguez.
  • Rodríguez denounced the U.S. operation, demanded Maduro’s release, and said Caracas would accept only “respectful relations,” even as reports on her whereabouts were disputed by Russia.
  • Opposition leader María Corina Machado hailed Maduro’s capture and urged recognition of Edmundo González Urrutia, while Trump publicly questioned her support inside the country.