According to El Nacional, one of the reliable newspapers in my country, Venezuela, this headline stands out today:
Delcy RodrĂguez will be sworn in as interim president this Monday before the National Assembly elected on May 25.
RodrĂguez will assume the Presidency before a National Assembly even more questioned than the one elected in 2020, after an irregular electoral process held amid allegations of fraud made by the opposition led by MarĂa Corina Machado and Edmundo GonzĂĄlez Urritia after the elections of July 28, 2024.
Executive Vice President Delcy RodrĂguez will assume the interim presidency of Venezuela this Monday, January 5, following a decision by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), which published a joint report on Saturday night ordering her to be sworn in before the National Assembly (AN).
According to the ruling, RodrĂguez will hold the position with "all the powers, duties and faculties inherent" to the Presidency of the Republic.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Parliament building, which was scheduled to begin a new legislative session that same day with the 285 deputies elected on May 25. Among them are the Vice President's brother, Jorge RodrĂguez, opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski, and Cilia Flores, who was arrested by the United States along with NicolĂĄs Maduro in Caracas in the early hours of January 3.
RodrĂguez will assume the Presidency before a National Assembly even more controversial than the one elected in 2020, following an irregular electoral process held amid allegations of fraud by the opposition, led by MarĂa Corina Machado and Edmundo GonzĂĄlez Urritia, after the July 28, 2024 elections. According to tally sheets compiled by the opposition leadership, the diplomat was the winner in those elections, receiving more than 30% of the vote.
According to the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ), the measure was adopted as part of a âprecautionary, urgent, and preventiveâ action, with the aim of guaranteeing the administrative continuity of the State. The court clarified that this decision does not imply a definitive assessment of the nature of the presidential absence, whether temporary or permanent, nor does it replace the authority of other State bodies to subsequently rule on this matter.
This Court has deemed it essential to issue, within the framework of a precautionary, urgent and preventive action, a protective measure to guarantee the administrative continuity of the State and the defense of the nation,â the text of the ruling states, adding that it is not deciding âon the merits regarding the definitive legal classification of the presidential offense.â
Hours before the Supreme Court's decision was announced, Delcy RodrĂguez addressed the nation in a public appearance, accompanied by ministers Diosdado Cabello and Vladimir Padrino LĂłpez. In her speech, she demanded that the United States release NicolĂĄs Maduro and reaffirmed her recognition of the Chavista leader.
So, reading this and taking into account what these sources in my country, Venezuela, are telling us, two questions arise: Why did Trump assure us that he would govern and lead Venezuela to an orderly transition? And my other question would be: Was this a political maneuver by the same narco-dictatorship to continue ruling Venezuela? Honestly, these questions leave me wondering what will happen in my country.
Share your perspective on these questions I'm asking myself and tell me what you think will happen?
It was a puppet government all along, and still is, yesterday just revealed a new master.
US can't just install a new leader, transitions need optics. Any tough talk is theater.
Not actually looking all that great, as it seems like Trump wants Delcy.
Seems like if she gets the nod its going to be a "meet the new boss" situation....
I doubt there's any allegiances or prospects for success here, its purely operational contingency planning. Anything public facing has at least a 50% chance of being deception. Short-term moves tell us anything about the long-term plan which we only know to be hemispheric security.
If the US were to install someone other than Delcy, and that person fails, they'd be pilloried for that failure and give any legal challenges potential footing.
Since Delcy has been in her position prior to this operation, it's not really regime change, and her failure would only then open the door to install someone other: "We gave them a chance." That road to failure gives time for a proper successor to gain legitimacy and not appear like a direct installation.
If Delcy cooperates and everything goes well, then the whole situation appears low-touch and justified from the beginning. Problem solved.
Trump/NatSec are simply putting themselves in a win-win/no-lose situation with her regardless of the outcome.
There's also the wildcard of what the actual plan is for Maduro, this spectacle was for public consumption otherwise they could have made it looked like an internal assasination and avoided the controversy of showing force... odds are very high much of this was staged after they twisted Maduro's arm back in 2018-2019. The future direction can't be gleaned until we at least get a show trial with Maduro dropping names and possibly asylum.
So, is Delcy (Narco-dictatorship/Socialism) taking executive power in my country on Monday part of a show staged by Trump? If so, my country has not been liberated but mocked again.
You have a puppet government either way, just a new master today.
It's still positive for you, but progress may be slower than hoped.
If she is to fail or not cooperate, it may still be more pain before it gets better. But if it gets worse, that will be last straw to cut the tumor out completely... Then you can heal.
I think she will cooperate enough until a proper transition takes place, at least enough for some money to invest and raise the standard of living and provide some stability.
No country is ever truly liberated, even the US is somewhat a slave to economic realities. But I believe your country is a step closer to providing a better situation for its people. Americans know Venezuelans well, you're an industrious and resilient people, who will now be able to be treated like our own. It's just a bumpy ride to get there from where things are now.
Trust the plan.
3rd order thinking, was this an invitation to China to seize the separatist PM of Taiwan? We just laid that precedent on the international stage.
Moral equivalency of CIAwan vs Narco-terrorism aside, since China has a similar security rationale, it would be very expensive for China to take Taiwan with overwhelming force and it'd be extremely expensive for the US to defend it... I doubt think there's appetite from serious people for a major confrontation over that on either side.
This could be part of a back-channel negotiation, the US gives China a cheap W be removing the separatists knowing its far from our shores, and our Navy (and Japan) still controls their sea lanes and the pacific at large. We've been hedging TSMC for nearly a decade already.
This would pattern match with understanding Russia's security concerns re: Ukraine and little benefit to allowing most of Europe to nothing more than a cost-center. The 2025 strategy carves out for relations with only a handful of european countries that Russia would have either have no strategic interest nor the capability to inflict a heavy cost on US defense.
Quite possible.
Isn't TSMC opening a new chip fab on US soil? Timing may be right...
Yea, the chip wonks will say 90% of the tippy top chips are still made in Taiwan, but that number is trending down not up, and a forcing function would remove the bandaid pretty quickly. It's all just machines and machines are replicable/moveable.
Intel's new fabs are also very important, the whole investment under the fake Biden COG psyop only to reveal a national stake later is further evidence we'd rather invest domestically than waste trillions defending a CIA field office on the other side of the planet.
The fact that a faction of the narco-dictatorship remains in my country brings me no joy or positive outlook. I'm very curious to know why Trump didn't arrest them all. The cancer of socialism must be eradicated, otherwise the arrest of Maduro will have been in vain.
It's an interesting perspective on this situation. Politics has always been a theater, there's no doubt about that.
Its very hard to predict how this unfolds.....not only for the domestic complexities but for the international as well....
A big question will be: What will China agree to.
Although most media coverage has been quiet on this subject. The big loser here was China. The whole situation sort of blew up in Xi's face and makes him look weak and fairly incompetent. His first big attempt of establishing a western hemisphere ally ended with Maduro being perp-walked and Xi's own special attache being trapped in Venezuela (no doubt that Trump is going to expect some concessions from Xi to get them out).
The question then gets to: "Why is China so invested in Venezuela anyway?" and there are several answers there, but the biggest is oil.
So ultimately for China, the question will become: What course of action will most quickly and securely turn the oil flow back on.
If they decide that Delcy is expendable, then they will agree to the "international deal" of new elections and she will be cast aside.
China, like the great powers, only seeks its own benefit. Venezuela is a country with great resources, both natural (natural resources, minerals) and for the industrial sector, making it an important player in Latin America and the world.
Eyes on Venezuela
certainly