Venezuela Supreme Court appoints VP Delcy Rodriguez as Interim President
Caracos: Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has assumed the role of acting president of the nation as ordered by the Supreme Court on Saturday, in the absence of President Nicolas Maduro, who was detained during a US operation on Venezuela.
The Constitutional Chamber ruled that Rodríguez would assume “the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the Nation,” Reuters has reported.
The Constitutional Chamber ruling has also said that the SC would deliberate to “determine the applicable legal framework to guarantee the continuity of the State, the administration of government, and the defense of sovereignty in the face of the forced absence of the President of the Republic.”
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A native of Caracas, Rodriguez was born on May 18, 1969 and is the daughter of Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, a left-wing guerrilla fighter and founder of the revolutionary Liga Socialista party in the 1970s. She studied law at the Central University of Venezuela, as reported by the CNN.
Her political career has seen a rapid rise in the past decade, from being the Minister of Communication and Information from 2013-14 to becoming the Foreign Minister of Venezuela from 2014-17. In 2017, she was appointed the head of a pro-government Constituent Assembly that significantly expanded Maduro’s powers. A year later, Maduro named Rodriguez as his deputy, announcing the appointment on X and describing her as "a young woman, brave, seasoned, daughter of a martyr, revolutionary and tested in a thousand battles."
In August 2024, Rodríguez was given charge of the Oil Ministry, with the responsibility of managing the escalating US sanctions on Venezuela’s most important industry, according to Reuters. In addition, she has served as the country’s chief economic authority.
On Saturday, Rodríguez called on the US government to provide proof of life for Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in an audio message broadcast on state television.
The Vice-president insisted that Maduro remain Venezuela’s legitimate president despite his detention by US forces. “There is only one president in this country, and his name is Nicolás Maduro Moros,” Rodríguez stated.
Her comments directly contradicted the earlier remarks by US President Donald Trump, who had said Rodríguez had been “sworn in” as president and was “willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”
Trump had also said the US would be running Venezuela in the immediate future.
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Ramzan fasts to begin in India from Thursday
New Delhi (PTI): Ramzan fasts will begin on Thursday in India as the crescent moon marking the start of the fasting month was sighted in various parts of the country on Wednesday.
After the sighting of the moon, the holy month begins and for the next 30 days, Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.
Shahi Imam of Chandni Chowk's Fatehpuri mosque Maulana Mufti Mukarram Ahmed announced that the crescent moon was sighted and the month of fasting will start from February 19.
Naib Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Shaban Bukhari also declared that the moon was sighted.
During this month, a special prayer called Taraweeh are offered in mosques in the evening. In this prayer, the entire Quran is recited and it continues till the sighting of the Eid moon.
Mufti Mukarram has appealed to the Muslim community to "pray as much as possible for the well-being of the 140 crore people of the country".
