After the dramatic capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, attention quickly shifted to one name: Delcy Rodríguez. As explosions shook Caracas and U.S. forces flew Maduro out of the country, Rodríguez emerged as one of the few senior officials to speak publicly. Now, she stands at the heart of a global debate about power, oil, law, and the future of Venezuela.
Delcy Rodríguez is Venezuela’s executive vice president and, under the country’s constitution, next in line to assume the presidency. Since June 2018, she has been one of the most powerful figures in Maduro’s inner circle. When Maduro and his wife disappeared after the U.S. strikes, Rodríguez demanded proof of life, saying Venezuela did not know where they were. Her appearance signaled that the government had not completely collapsed, even as chaos spread.
U.S. President Donald Trump then made a surprising claim. Speaking from Mar-a-Lago, he hinted that Rodríguez was part of the “group of people” Washington was already talking to about running Venezuela after Maduro’s capture. Trump even suggested that she had already been “sworn in,” though he added she was “picked by Maduro.” Venezuelan authorities have not confirmed this, and the confusion only deepened the crisis.
Rodríguez is known as one of Maduro’s fiercest defenders. He once called her a “tiger” because of her loyalty and aggressive style. She has worked closely with her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who is now the president of the National Assembly. Together, they have been key faces of the regime at home and abroad, especially during moments of intense international pressure.
Her political roots run deep. Delcy Rodríguez is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a founder of Venezuela’s Socialist League. He died in prison in 1976 after being arrested for his role in the kidnapping of an American executive. This history shaped her political identity and placed her firmly within Venezuela’s revolutionary elite.
Rodríguez entered government in 2003 and rose quickly. She served as communications minister, then foreign minister, and later became president of the National Constituent Assembly. Each role brought her closer to the center of power. In 2018, Maduro rewarded her loyalty by appointing her vice president.
Her influence grew even more after 2020, when she also became finance minister. In mid-2024, she took over the petroleum ministry portfolio. This made her one of the most important figures managing Venezuela’s broken economy and its most valuable resource: oil. For Washington, this detail matters deeply.
At his Mar-a-Lago press conference, Trump made clear that Venezuelan oil is a major interest for the United States. “We’re going to be taking out a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground,” he said. He added that this wealth would go to the people of Venezuela, to people who used to be in Venezuela, and also to the United States “in the form of reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.”
Trump repeated that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela for a period of time and bring it back professionally. Standing in front of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and General Dan Caine, he said these figures would be central to the transition. “We’re going to be running it. We’re going to be bringing it back,” he said confidently.
When asked directly about Delcy Rodríguez, Trump said she told Marco Rubio she was prepared to work with the United States. “I think she’s just been sworn in, right,” he said, again stressing that she was chosen by Maduro. This claim clashed with earlier reports that Rodríguez had left the country for Moscow after the strikes, leaving her exact location unknown.
Trump also made it clear that military force was still on the table. He said he was “not afraid of boots on the ground” and explained that the U.S. would have “a presence in oil.” He suggested that U.S. military power could play a role in protecting oil operations during the transition.
At the same time, Trump rejected working with Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. He said it would be “very tough” for her to run the country because she does not have the “support or respect” of Venezuelans. This statement shocked many observers who expected Washington to back the opposition rather than a figure from Maduro’s own system.
Trump also clashed with regional leaders. Responding to concerns from Colombian President Gustavo Petro about regional safety, Trump accused Colombia of hosting drug production and distribution facilities. He told Petro to “watch his *ss,” further raising tensions in Latin America.
Behind all this political drama are the serious criminal charges Maduro now faces in the United States. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Maduro is charged under a March 2020 superseding indictment filed in New York’s Southern District. Federal prosecutors accuse him of leading a narco-terrorism conspiracy from 1999 to 2020.
The indictment alleges that Maduro ran the Cartel de los Soles, also known as the Cartel of the Sons, and used cocaine as a weapon to flood the United States with drugs. He was charged alongside other senior officials, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and former intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios, known as “El Pollo.”
Prosecutors say the network worked closely with Colombia’s FARC rebels. According to the charges, they cultivated coca, moved cocaine through Caribbean and Central American routes, and used state resources to support trafficking. One cited case involves a DC-9 jet seized in Mexico in 2006 carrying 5.6 tonnes of cocaine.
Another key allegation involves 2008 agreements that used funds from Venezuela’s state oil company to support FARC drug operations. These accusations place oil, drugs, and politics tightly together, helping explain Washington’s intense focus on Venezuela’s energy sector.
Maduro now faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses. If convicted, he could face life in prison. In early December, Hugo Carvajal Barrios publicly accused Maduro and his government of being a “narco-terrorist organisation,” adding weight to U.S. claims.
As the dust settles, Delcy Rodríguez stands in a dangerous and powerful position. She is both a symbol of the old system and, possibly, a bridge to whatever comes next. Whether she is truly willing to work with Washington, or whether Trump’s claims are part of a pressure strategy, remains unclear.
What is clear is that Venezuela’s future may now depend on a woman shaped by revolution, loyalty, and oil. As the United States talks about running a foreign country and extracting its wealth, the world watches closely. The decisions made around Delcy Rodríguez could determine whether Venezuela moves toward stability or deeper chaos.
I am wondering whether there is neocolonialism. To the best of my knowledge, I knew that Heads of States had their immunity and that solely UN may deal with compromising president. But I keep seeing African, Latino and Asian heads of states abducted from their country despites international souverainty right. Who is the master of worldly power? May be all 203 countries of the world might have become United States of World while current presidents and Heads of Government and Kings are governors.