Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez declared Nicolás Maduro the country’s sole president after U.S. forces reportedly raided his compound and detained him and his wife, Cilia Flores. Rodríguez condemned the operation as “barbarity,” demanded proof of life and accused the U.S. of seeking regime change to seize Venezuela’s resources. U.S. officials say Maduro and Flores were flown toward New York to face a superseding indictment unsealed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. The episode has heightened diplomatic tensions and drawn strong reactions from both the Venezuelan opposition and the U.S. administration.
“There Is Only One President”: Venezuela’s VP Defends Maduro After U.S. Raid and Arrest
Maduro is Venezuela’s only president, says VP Delcy Rodriguez
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez on Saturday insisted that Nicolás Maduro remains the country’s sole president, speaking hours after U.S. forces reportedly raided his compound and detained him and his wife to face charges in New York.
“There is only one president in Venezuela, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodríguez said in a televised address to the nation. Her statement came after reports that U.S. military units carried out strikes in Caracas and that a U.S. Delta Force team entered Maduro’s residence and detained Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Rodríguez Condemns U.S. Action
Rodríguez described the operation as “barbarity,” demanding the immediate release of Maduro and Flores and calling on the international community to recognize what she called an attempt at regime change. “We had already warned that an aggression was underway under false excuses and false pretenses, and that the masks had fallen off, revealing only one objective: regime change in Venezuela,” she told citizens, according to The New York Times.
“This regime change would also allow for the seizure of our energy, mineral and natural resources. This is the true objective,” Rodríguez said, urging world leaders to take note.
Calls For Proof Of Life And Conditional Dialogue
In the wake of the operation, Rodríguez demanded that the United States provide “proof of life” for Maduro and Flores and called the arrests a “complete brutal aggression against our people.” At the same time, she said the government remains open to dialogue, offering “respectful relations” with the U.S. only if those conditions are met, according to The Associated Press.
U.S. Response And Legal Action
U.S. officials said Maduro and Flores were flown to the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima en route to New York, where they will face criminal charges. Attorney General Pam Bondi unsealed a superseding indictment on Saturday that builds on charges first filed against Maduro in 2020.
Speaking from his Mar-a-Lago resort, President Donald Trump told reporters the U.S. would “run” Venezuela until the country achieves a peaceful transition of power. He did not specify whether opposition figure María Corina Machado should assume the presidency, saying she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Opposition Reaction
Opposition leader María Corina Machado praised the operation, posting on the social network X that “the hour of freedom has arrived!” Machado suggested that opposition figure Edmundo González Urrutia—whom Maduro defeated in Venezuela’s contested 2024 election—should assume leadership.
Rodríguez’s comments and the U.S. operation set the stage for an intensified diplomatic and legal confrontation over Venezuela’s leadership, with significant international and regional implications.
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