CARACAS – US President Donald Trump declared that Delcy Rodríguez had been sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president and would cooperate with Washington, Rodríguez stunned the world.
In a voice clip, she opposed Trump’s claims, denouncing US as an invader and insisting that Nicolás Maduro remained the country’s “only president.” In a dramatic show of unity, she stood alongside Venezuela’s top military, judicial, and legislative leaders, sending a clear message: Washington would not run Caracas.
At Saturday news conference, Trump announced Rodríguez’s swearing-in and painted a picture of an obedient partner ready to “make Venezuela great again,” hinting that Washington could effectively run the country. “She’s essentially willing to do what we think is necessary,” Trump declared.
But reality shattered that narrative less than two hours later as Rodríguez called US an illegal invader and vowed that Venezuela would resist foreign interference. “We are determined to be free,” she said. “What is being done to Venezuela is a barbarity.”
Rodríguez accused US of using false excuses to carry out regime change, warning that the true objective was the seizure of Venezuela’s vast energy, mineral, and natural resources. “The masks have fallen,” she said, “revealing only one goal: domination of our nation.”
She delivered speech flanked by Venezuela’s National Defense Council, including defense minister, attorney general, and the top officials of the legislature and judiciary. Their presence was a clear signal that the government remains united against US pressure, directly contradicting Trump’s claims that America could control Venezuela.
Even as US aircraft and extraction forces reportedly returned to the USS Iwo Jima, Venezuela’s defense minister and attorney general publicly condemned Trump and the American military intervention.
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