MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Delcy Rodríguez sworn in as caretaker President of Venezuela

“We consider it a priority to move toward a balanced and respectful international relationship between the United States and Venezuela,” Delcy Rodríguez told Trump in a statement

Venezuela's Acting President Delcy Rodríguez chaired the 757th Council of Ministers on Sunday to establish a strategy for national stability following Nicolás Maduro's detention by US forces.

The meeting followed a ruling by the Supreme Court (TSJ) appointing her as caretaker head of the executive branch. In this scenario, the Bolivarian regime dubbed Maduro's abduction and that of his wife, Cilia Flores, as “kidnappings” by Washington.

Rodríguez emphasized that the primary goal of the council was to maintain “national sovereignty and citizen peace” in the face of what the government calls “imperialist destabilization.” The council issued strategic guidelines to ensure that all state institutions remain fully operational and that the Constitution is defended against foreign interference as the Chavista administration seeks to project order and control through the current, unprecedented crisis.

The government insists that the constitutional structure remains intact, although the cabinet declared itself in permanent session to guarantee civil peace. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López has publicly backed Rodríguez, activating the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) nationwide to “guarantee territorial integrity,” because Venezuela “will never be a colony.”

By backing Rodríguez, the FANB is attempting to prevent a total collapse of the government or a takeover by US-backed Edmundo González Urrutia or María Corina Machado.

Additionally, the FANB remains in control of the nation’s strategic assets, including oil fields and refineries, which directly challenges US President Donald Trump's claim that the US would “run the country” and its oil industry.

Despite rumors of internal fractures, the high command appeared alongside Rodríguez and her brother, Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez, who is next in line to the presidential succession.

From that position, Delcy Rodríguez issued a statement:

“Venezuela reaffirms its commitment to peace and peaceful coexistence. Our country aspires to live without external threats, in an environment of respect and international cooperation. We believe that global peace is built by first guaranteeing peace within each nation.

We consider it a priority to move toward a balanced and respectful international relationship between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and the countries of the region, based on sovereign equality and non-interference. These principles guide our diplomacy with the rest of the world.

We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on a cooperation agenda aimed at shared development, within the framework of international law, and to strengthen lasting community coexistence.

President Donald Trump: our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. That has always been the position of President Nicolás Maduro, and it is the position of all of Venezuela at this time. That is the Venezuela I believe in, to which I have dedicated my life. My dream is for Venezuela to be a great power where all good Venezuelans can come together.

Venezuela has a right to peace, development, sovereignty, and a future.

Delcy Rodríguez, Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela”