Venezuela’s Supreme Court ordered Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to take over as interim president for Nicolas Maduro, the now-former leader who was captured by the United States during a military operation and is now detained in New York City.
The nation’s highest court ruled on Saturday night that Rodriguez will, at the very least, temporarily succeed Maduro for the sake of “administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation.”
The ruling is in accordance with Venezuela’s constitution, which states that the vice president handles presidential duties in the event of an absence. The court said in its order that Maduro is currently in a “material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions.”
There is some doubt, however, that Rodriguez is still in the country after the U.S. strikes on Caracas. An earlier report placed her in Russia, while later Saturday she gave a televised address to Venezuelans.
In that address, Rodriguez insisted Maduro is the “only” president of Venezuela, while condemning the attack.
Those comments appeared to contradict President Donald Trump’s statement in a press conference after the strikes on Saturday, when he signaled Rodriguez is amenable to any leadership changes.
“She was sworn in as president just a little while ago,” Trump said of Rodriguez. “She had a long conversation with Marco [Rubio], and she said, ‘We’ll do whatever you need.’ I think she was quite gracious, but she really doesn’t have a choice.”
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It is unclear at this time whether Trump would seek Rodriguez’s ouster as well, given she is a holdover from the Maduro regime. But Trump did reveal that the U.S. would temporarily “run” Venezuela, leaving few options other than cooperation for the former Venezuelan vice president.
Maduro, meanwhile, is being detained at a federal detention center in New York City and will stand trial as early as Monday.