He Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela ordered this Saturday that the executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumes acting presidentthe first woman in the history of the South American country to head the Executive, after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States, which attacked Caracas and other areas of the oil nation during this morning (local).
“It is ordered that the citizen Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómezexecutive vice president of the Republic, assume and exercise in her capacity as person in charge all the powers, duties and powers inherent to the position of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to ensure administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation,” said the president of the Constitutional Chamber, Tania D’Amelio, during an appearance broadcast on radio and television.
The country’s highest court demanded that Rodríguez, the nation’s defense council, the military high command and Parliament be notified “immediately” of this decision, without specifying how long the swearing-in ceremony should take place.
For this Monday, January 5, the installation of a new legislative period (2026-2031), dominated by Chavismo, an institution in which the president and other directors of that power must be sworn in.
Maduro’s “kidnapping”
The TSJ indicated that it made this decision after what it considered as Maduro’s “kidnapping” by US military forces and their subsequent transfer to New York, a situation that he described as “exceptional, atypical and a force majeure not literally provided for in the Venezuelan Constitution.”
The objective, he continued, is to guarantee the administrative continuity of the State and the defense of the nation, “without this implying a substantive decision on the definitive legal classification of the presidential fault (temporary or absolute), nor replacing the powers of other State bodies to carry out said classification in subsequent procedures.”
According to article 234 of the Constitution Venezuelan, temporary or absolute absences of the president will be made up for by the executive vice president for up to 90 days, extendable by decision of Parliament for the same period of time. If an absence lasts more than 90 consecutive days, the text states, the Legislature will decide by a majority of its members if it should be considered that there is an absolute absence.
Experts consulted by Efe point out that the current Constitution, approved in 1999, relies on the executive vice presidency in the absence of the president. In that sense, it contemplates two scenarios in the absence of a president who has already assumed office, although neither of them corresponds to the current situation that, in addition, experts warn, happens to a Government of questioned legitimacy after the 2024 presidential elections.
State of external commotion
This Saturday, Rodríguez announced the activation of the National Defense Council, which she heads, and that she sent the decree of state of external commotion so that it declared its constitutionality and came into force.
Among the powers of this council are that of mobilize the Bolivarian National Armed Forces throughout the territorytake militarily and immediately the infrastructure of the public servicesas well as the oil industryto guarantee its “full functioning”.
