Power vacuum in Caracas? Venezuelans wonder who’s in charge after Maduro capture
Nicolas Maduro’s deputy granted temporary presidential powers, but it is unclear who is running Venezuela
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Trump pledges to keep oil flowing to China after Maduro capture
“What will happen tomorrow?” asked Juan Pablo Petrone, a resident of Venezuela’s capital of Caracas. As fear gripped the city, streets quickly emptied save for long lines snaking from supermarkets and petrol stations. “What will happen in the next hour?”
President Donald Trump offered a shocking answer: the United States would take control of Venezuela, perhaps in coordination with one of Maduro’s most trusted aides.
Delcy Rodriguez, who is next in the presidential line of succession, served as Maduro’s vice-president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela’s oil-dependent economy as well as its feared intelligence service. On Saturday, Venezuela’s high court ordered her to assume the role of interim president.
“She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump told reporters of Rodriguez, who faced US sanctions during Trump’s first administration for her role in undermining Venezuelan democracy.
In a major snub, Trump said opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, did not have the support to run the country.