The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by the United States has disrupted Venezuela's socialist leadership and raised questions about whether Vice President Delcy Rodríguez can assume control without calling new elections. There is also an added confusion over who is in control of the state after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested that the US will not govern Venezuela, but will simply maintain the existing oil embargo.
Rubio’s statement contradicts US President Donald Trump’s statement on Saturday that he would open Venezuela’s vast, state-controlled oil reserves to U.S. oil companies, saying, “We’re going to run the country right,” Trump added.
However, Rubio’s clarification represents a shift in position and is seen as a bid to allay fears that forceful action to achieve regime change in Venezuela could lead the United States to another prolonged foreign intervention. "That's the kind of control the president is referring to," Rubio said on CBS News. "We will continue with that embargo, and we hope there will be changes, not only in how the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also to stop drug trafficking," he added.
This comes as Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodriguez attempts to take over the socialist leadership in the country. However, geopolitical experts believe the Trump team's understanding of Rodriguez remains unclear and that the US plan is to keep a hybrid scheme with someone acceptable to the US as the head of the government.
Trump has already made his intentions clear when he threatened Venezuela’s Rodríguez with “paying a very high price, probably higher than that of her captured predecessor if she continued to refuse to cooperate with the United States.
Rodríguez has, however, refused to toe the US line and within hours denounced the United States’ military actions against her country, calling the U.S. campaign “barbaric.”
But she has to face the legal complexities of the country’s president being suddenly transferred to another country.
According to Venezuelan law, there is confusion over whether a formal swearing-in ceremony before the newly constituted Assembly will be necessary for Rodríguez. It will depend on how authorities classify Maduro's sudden removal from office. In a ruling issued on Sunday, a Venezuelan court signaled that it is treating the situation as a temporary forced absence.
Under the temporary absence scheme, Rodríguez could exercise executive power for up to 90 days, extending the interim period until April. The Venezuelan Constitution allows for a single 90-day extension, which would prolong the term until July, at which point lawmakers would decide whether Maduro's absence should become permanent.
A complete absence within the first year of Maduro's most recent presidential term would require a new election within 30 days, opening the door to a vote as early as August if the National Assembly decides to formalise his removal.
