Delcy Rodríguez says Nicolás Maduro remains Venezuela’s legitimate president
In her first US television interview since assuming the presidency after Maduro’s capture, acting president Delcy Rodríguez defended Maduro’s legitimacy, described growing cooperation with the United States on oil, and signaled a possible visit to Washington.
- Rodríguez said Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores are innocent and that Maduro remains the legitimate president of Venezuela.
- She spoke to NBC News in her first US interview since taking office after Maduro was captured and detained in New York.
- Rodríguez has softened her tone toward the US and said she has been invited to visit Washington.
- US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Caracas and said the United States has leverage via control of Venezuela’s oil revenue, noting over $1 billion in oil sales with about $5 billion more expected.
- Wright said Rodríguez has cooperated with US officials and that Venezuela has already changed its hydrocarbon law.
- Dozens of political prisoners have been released recently, but opposition figure Juan Pablo Guanipa was rearrested and placed under house arrest, and Maria Corina Machado’s return to Venezuela remains unresolved