Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) has ordered Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the powers of acting president following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces.
The ruling was issued by the Constitutional Chamber and read on state broadcaster Venezolana de Televisión by its president, Caryslia Beatriz Rodríguez. The court described Maduro’s seizure as a “kidnapping” that created a material and temporary impossibility for him to exercise presidential duties.
“To ensure administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation,” the chamber ordered Rodríguez to assume all presidential powers on an interim basis.
The court said the situation constitutes an extraordinary emergency and “force majeure,” threatening national security and state stability conditions which, while not explicitly outlined in the Constitution, were invoked to justify what it called an urgent protective measure.
Shortly after the announcement, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry formally recognized Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s interim leader, citing Maduro’s detention in the United States.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured during a pre-dawn U.S. special operations raid on the Fuerte Tiuna military compound in Caracas on January 3, 2026, part of what Washington described as a decisive mission to bring the Venezuelan leader to U.S. soil.
Rodríguez’s appointment aims to maintain continuity of government as the country absorbs the shock of Maduro’s sudden removal.
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