Following a defiant parliamentary session on Tuesday, Delcy Rodríguez has been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president.
The move comes just hours after Maduro appeared in a New York courtroom to plead not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and terrorism, insisting he remains the nation’s legitimate leader.
Rodríguez, 56, who has served as vice president since 2018, opened the session with emotional condemnation of the weekend raid that also detained Maduro’s wife, Cilia Flores. “I am pained by this violation of our sovereignty,” she told lawmakers. “Nicolás Maduro is and will continue to be our president.”
The transition of power framed by the government as a constitutional measure was met with immediate resistance internationally and sparked heated debate at the United Nations, where several nations denounced the U.S. operation as a breach of international law.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, defended the action in a sharp retort, stating that **“the largest energy reserves in the world cannot be left in the hands of an illegitimate leader who is a fugitive from justice.”**
