Venezuela swears in interim President, as ousted leader Maduro pleads ‘not guilty’ in US court
Delcy Rodríguez was on Monday sworn in as Venezuela’s interim President in a parliamentary session.
56 years old Rodríguez who has been Vice President since 2018, said she was pained by what she called the “kidnapping” of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were captured on Saturday by US forces in an overnight military raid.
Rodríguez told the National Assembly after taking the oath of office that she was pained by the illegitimate military aggression, while vowing to guarantee the spiritual, economic and social tranquility of Venezuelans.
Trump had earlier warned Rodriguez in a comment made to The Atlantic magazine on Sunday that she could “pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro” if she “doesn’t do what’s right”.
Rodríguez had also indicated during a cabinet meeting that her government would engage in some cooperation with the US. “We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of co-operation orientated towards shared development within the framework of international law,” she said.
Meanwhile, Maduro while in US court on Monday, had insisted he was still President of Venezuela as he pleaded ‘not guilty’ to four charges of drug trafficking and terrorism.
Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
While the US has been facing criticisms at the United Nations on their action against Venezuela, the US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz responded that the largest energy reserves in the world could not be left in the hands of an illegitimate leader and a “fugitive from justice”.
The Venezuelan UN ambassador, Samuel Moncada, said his country had been the target of an “illegitimate armed attack lacking any legal justification”, while the US ambassador said that the ousted Maduro was “an illegitimate so-called President”, adding that the US had carried out a surgical law enforcement operation to apprehend Maduro.
In a dramatic scene during court appearance on Monday, someone shouted in Spanish from the public at Maduro saying he would pay for what he had done, while Maduro replied that he was a kidnapped President and a prisoner of war.
Meanwhile Maduro had said earlier that that he was a decent man and still President of his country while the 92 years old Judge Alvin Hellerstein replied Maduro that there would be a time and place to address his claims.
