Venezuela’s interim president says she’s in charge, calls Maduro ‘legitimate leader’

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez insisted Thursday that she is running the country amid claims that the US is in control of Caracas.

“I can tell you I am in charge of the presidency of Venezuela, as it’s stated clearly in the constitution of Venezuela,” Rodriguez told NBC News.

“And from the amount of work that I have, from how busy I am, I can tell you it’s very, very hard work and we’re doing it completely day by day,” she added.

After President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces in early January and transported to New York, where he is being held in a federal detention facility, Rodriguez is moving to normalize relations with Washington under President Donald Trump while managing domestic pressure.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Caracas on Wednesday to assess the country’s oil industry and hold talks with Venezuela’s interim government centered on a massive overhaul of the country’s energy sector to revitalize its economy and reintegrate its oil reserves into the global market.

Rodriguez also said that Maduro is still the legitimate leader of Venezuela.

“I can tell you President Nicolas Maduro is the legitimate president. I will tell you this as a lawyer, that I am. Both President Maduro and Cilia Flores, the first lady, are both innocent,” she stressed.

“I have been invited to the (United) States. We’re contemplating coming there once we establish this cooperation and we can move forward with everything.”

On the possibility of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returning to Venezuela, Rodriguez said: “With regards to her life, we do not understand why there’s such a fuss about it.”

“With regards to her coming back to the country, she will have to answer to Venezuela. Why she called upon a military intervention, why she called upon sanctions to Venezuela, and why she celebrated the actions that took place at the beginning of January,” she added.

Despite gifting her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump, Machado has yet to secure his full political backing.