Delcy Rodríguez is sworn in by her brother as interim president of Venezuela

vice of and now interim president of was sworn in this Monday (5). “I come with sadness for the suffering inflicted on the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said, with her right hand raised. The inauguration was made by his brother, the leader of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. “I come with sadness over the kidnapping of two heroes.”

The now interim president will be responsible for governing the country that, since Saturday (3), was without a president, as dictator Nicolas Maduro was kidnapped by the United States and taken to New York, where he will be tried for drug trafficking. The first hearing took place this Monday, and the second is scheduled for March 17th.

. “The only president of Venezuela is Nicolás Maduro,” he said at the time, adding that his country “will never be a colony of any nation.”

Delcy Rodríguez was born on May 18, 1969, in Caracas. She is the daughter of the left-wing guerrilla Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, founder of the Socialist League party in 1970. A lawyer, she rose through the political career ladder in the last decade. She was Minister of Communication and Information between 2013 and 2014. She held the Foreign Affairs portfolio between 2014 and 2017, when Venezuela tried to boycott Mercosur after being suspended.

The President of the United States, , had stated that Rodríguez had expressed “willingness to do whatever we deem necessary to make this work.” According to the American, she told him that she is willing to work with the US on the transition. However, in her first position as interim president, she assured that Venezuela is ready to defend itself, and called for the release of Nicolás Maduro. “We are ready to defend Venezuela, we are ready to defend our natural resources, which must be for national development,” said Rodríguez at the head of a National Defense Council, alongside leaders of public authorities.