Summary: A former Venezuelan official told Fox News Digital that Delcy Rodríguez’s elevation to interim leader after Nicolás Maduro’s arrest signals continuity of the Maduro-era inner circle rather than political change. Rodríguez, 56, has held multiple top posts and was sworn in by her brother Jorge Rodríguez. The source characterized her as hostile to the West and cited alleged ties to past controversies — including 2018 OFAC sanctions and the 2020 “Delcygate” reports — while warning of foreign influence and armed groups operating in Venezuela.
Ex-Official: Delcy Rodríguez’s Interim Rise Signals Continuity of Maduro Era — ‘She Hates the West’
Venezuela's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025.
A former Venezuelan official told Fox News Digital that Delcy Rodríguez’s appointment as interim leader after Nicolás Maduro’s arrest represents continuity rather than change in Caracas, with the inner circle of Maduro loyalists remaining firmly in control.
Key developments: Rodríguez, 56, was sworn in on Monday following Maduro’s removal and his appearance in a New York courtroom on drug‑trafficking charges. She was sworn in by her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, the head of the National Assembly. The anonymous ex-official characterized her elevation as evidence that the government rotates trusted figures within a close-knit leadership rather than introducing new actors.
“The regime is still the same, and she hates the West,” the former official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Rodríguez has held multiple senior posts, including vice president, foreign minister, president of the Constituent Assembly and oil minister. Her long tenure in top roles, the source said, demonstrates how Maduro-era officials continue to dominate government institutions.
A side-by-side photo of President Donald Trump and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.
The article notes several controversies associated with Rodríguez. In 2018 the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned her as a senior official in the Maduro government; those sanctions remain in place. Media reports have also linked her to the 2020 “Delcygate” episode — an alleged secret stop in Spain despite sanctions — and to claims that she transported gold into Europe; Rodríguez has denied those allegations. During her time as foreign minister she publicly denied reports that Venezuelan passports and citizenship documents were being sold abroad.
Observers quoted by Fox News Digital additionally warned of significant influence in Venezuela from foreign governments and allied forces, saying Iran, China, Russia and Cuba exert major influence and that armed groups such as FARC and ELN control parts of the country. The anonymous source framed these dynamics as a geopolitical threat close to the United States.
Background: Rodríguez is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a Marxist guerrilla and co‑founder of the Socialist League. Reporting by The New York Times has linked her father to the 1976 kidnapping of American businessman William F. Niehous and said he later died in police custody. The anonymous ex-official argued that this history informed Delcy Rodríguez’s political outlook; that claim is presented as the source’s interpretation.
Context and caveat: Many of the harsher characterizations in the original account — including the claim that Rodríguez “hates the West” and allegations of illicit activity — come from an anonymous former official speaking to Fox News Digital and are not independently verified in this article. Sanctions by OFAC are an established fact; other allegations have been denied by Rodríguez or remain contested in public reporting.
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