Confusion reigns in Venezuela as Trump claims talks with Maduro’s Deputy

Caracas: Venezuelans on Saturday scrambled to understand who was in charge of their country after the US military captured President Nicolás Maduro, ousting the strongman who had outlasted a botched coup attempt, several army mutinies, mass protests and economic sanctions in the vast nation of 29 million.

“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 gas 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 Rodríguez, 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 Rodríguez, 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, didn't have the support to run the country. Trump said Rodríguez had a long conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in which Trump claimed she said, “We'll do whatever you need.'”

“I think she was quite gracious,” Trump added. “We can't take a chance that somebody else takes over Venezuela that doesn't have the good of the Venezuelan people in mind.”

Senior officials remain in place

Venezuelan officials appeared to have survived the military operation and held onto their jobs, at least for now. There was no immediate sign that the US was running Venezuela. Rodríguez tried to project strength and unity among the ruling party's many factions, downplaying any hint of betrayal. In remarks on state television before the court decision, she demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and denounced the US operation as a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter.

“There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro,” Rodríguez said, surrounded by top civilian officials and military commanders. Seeking to assuage the jittery public, Venezuelan military officials struck a defiant tone in video messages, lashing out at Trump and vowing to stand up to US pressure.

“They have attacked us but will not break us,” said Defence Minister Gen Vladimir Padrino López, dressed in fatigues. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, among Maduro's top enforcers, urged Venezuelans to “get out on the streets” to defend the country's sovereignty.

“These rats attacked and they will regret what they did,” he said of the US Some Venezuelans heeded his call, rallying in support of the government and burning American flags in scattered gatherings across Caracas on Saturday. But most people stayed inside out of fear.

“What's happening is unprecedented,” said Yanire Lucas, another Caracas resident, picking up pieces of glass from an explosion at a nearby military base that blew out the windows of her house. “We're still on edge, and now we're unsure what to do.”

No sign of a political transition

Trump indicated that Rodríguez had been sworn in already as president of Venezuela, per the transfer of power outlined in the constitution. But state TV did not broadcast any swearing-in ceremony. During Rodríguez's televised speech, a ticker at the bottom of the screen identified her as the vice president.

She gave no sign that she would be cooperating with the US, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “What is being done to Venezuela is an atrocity that violates international law,” she said in her address. “History and justice will make the extremists who promoted this armed aggression pay.”