CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez delivered her inaugural state of the union address Thursday amid mounting political tensions, balancing competing demands from the United States government and loyalists of ousted leader Nicolás Maduro. The address to the National Assembly, dominated by the ruling party, outlined Rodríguez’s governance vision during this transitional period.
The speech followed Rodríguez’s announcement of continued prisoner releases from the Maduro era, characterizing the development as part of a ‘new political moment’ following the U.S.-orchestrated removal of her predecessor earlier this month. The acting president faces the complex task of reconciling Washington’s expectations with the influence of hardline factions controlling Venezuela’s security apparatus.
In a significant diplomatic development, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday, despite having previously sidelined her by endorsing Rodríguez. Machado’s political coalition is widely recognized as the legitimate winner of the 2024 elections that Maduro had rejected.
Rodríguez confirmed following a Tuesday telephone discussion with Trump that her administration would dedicate ‘every dollar’ from petroleum revenues to revitalize Venezuela’s critically deteriorated public healthcare infrastructure. The nation’s medical facilities have suffered systemic collapse, requiring patients to provide even basic medical supplies ranging from syringes to surgical implements.
The interim leader operates under considerable pressure from Washington, having been sanctioned previously for human rights violations during Trump’s initial presidential term. Trump has explicitly threatened Rodríguez with consequences ‘probably worse than Maduro’ should she fail to cooperate with U.S. objectives regarding Venezuela’s oil industry restructuring.
Maduro remains incarcerated in a Brooklyn detention facility after pleading not guilty to narcotics trafficking allegations, while Rodríguez maneuvers through Venezuela’s complex political landscape.