Who is Delcy Rodríguez, the new president of Venezuela

For Donald Trump, it may be “acceptable” in the transition. For many Chavistas, the continuity of the legacy. The fact is that the new interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, is not unanimous. But according to the United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, he would be willing to cooperate in the transition of power.

Until then, executive vice-president of the dictator Nicolás Maduro, deposed in the early hours of Saturday by United States forces, she assumed the Chavista vacuum by order of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) of Venezuela. The position was even recognized by Itamaraty.

But who is the woman who now becomes the country’s first female president? Far from being a moderate figure, Rodríguez has a biography steeped in Bolivarianism and Marxism, marked by left-wing radicalism, combative diplomacy and an extensive list of international sanctions.

A Venezuelan Gleisi?

Despite reports from Washington about alleged behind-the-scenes cooperation, Delcy Rodríguez’s public stance in the first hours after the Delta Force operation was confrontational. Typical of someone loyal to the regime, like Gleisi Hoffman does on the PT “front line” when she needs someone to make a stand.

In a statement broadcast on radio and TV, she classified the American action not as a liberation, but as a crime. He said that Venezuela “will never be a colony”. That the only president is Nicolás Maduro and that his capture was a “kidnapping”. For her, the act was military aggression and an attack on sovereignty.

“We demand the immediate release of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the only president of Venezuela,” he declared, trying to maintain the internal cohesion of the Chavista bases and the Armed Forces.

The speech given in Caracas was given alongside the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, brother of the vice-president, and the ministers of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, of Foreign Affairs, Yván Gil Pinto, and of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López.

This rhetoric does not surprise anyone who follows his career. As chancellor (2014-2017), she was the voice of the regime in the Organization of American States (OAS) and Mercosur, defending the “Bolivarian Revolution” from what Chavistas call “imperial attacks”, while the country plunged into misery and political repression.

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez’s Radical DNA

Delcy’s loyalty to the socialist project runs in the family. Born in 1969, she is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, founder of the Socialist League, a Marxist group in Venezuela. His father died in prison in 1976, accused of kidnapping an American businessman. The fact would have shaped the family’s anti-American resentment.

Alongside his brother, Jorge Rodríguez (current president of the National Assembly), Delcy forms a kind of dynasty, accumulating power and influence over the intelligence apparatus and the judiciary.

Despite graduating in the Venezuelan country, he specialized in Labor Law at the University of Paris and completed a master’s degree in Political Science and Social Studies at Birkbeck College, in London. In other words, enjoying life in the European capitalism that the regime criticizes so much.

She also held other positions within the Chavista regime.

“Persona non grata”

The “acceptance” mentioned by Trump contrasts with Rodríguez’s reputation on the global stage. It is the target of sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union, Canada, Switzerland and neighboring countries such as Colombia. The justifications for such measures:

• Corruption and Money Laundering: Accusations of embezzlement of public funds.
• Violation of Human Rights: Active role in repressing protests and maintaining the authoritarian structure.
• Subversion of Democracy: He was a key player in the creation of the 2017 National Constituent Assembly, a maneuver used to annul the parliament elected by the opposition.

Now, Delcy Rodríguez’s rise to interim power places Venezuela and the United States in a paradox. While Trump claims she told Marco Rubio “we will do whatever you need,” her record suggests an ideology willing to do anything to preserve the legacy of Chávez and Maduro.

For now, Venezuela is under the command of a woman who learned to do politics on the front lines of Marxism and who sees the United States as her family’s historical enemy. It remains to be seen whether the pragmatism of survival will speak louder than ideology.