Venezuela: Vice President Delcy Rodríguez Appointed Acting President

SadaNews - The constitutional chamber of the Venezuelan Supreme Court on Saturday evening appointed Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president, to assume the role of acting president in the absence of Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested in Caracas during an operation conducted by U.S. forces.

The court's decision stipulated that Rodríguez, in her capacity as acting president, is to assume all duties and powers granted to the office of the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to ensure the continuity of governance and comprehensive defense of the homeland, as stated by the head of the constitutional chamber, Tania D'Amelio, while reading the decision on an official televised broadcast.

The judges did not currently declare Maduro absent indefinitely, which would have led to early elections within 30 days.

Earlier, Rodríguez called for the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, asserting that Maduro is the "only president" of the country, in a televised speech broadcasted by state television following a meeting of the National Defense Council.

In her speech, she noted that the Venezuelan people responded to the call for mobilization that President Maduro had previously announced, confirming that popular cadres took to the streets, and that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces and citizen security agencies were deployed, as part of what she described as the defense of national independence and sovereignty following a "brutal attack" on the country early Saturday.

It is worth noting that Maduro arrived in the United States on Saturday evening local time after being arrested by U.S. forces during a military operation in Caracas, and he is expected to appear before a federal court in Manhattan, New York, on Monday.

Source: Agencies