Delcy Rodríguez Heads a Compromised Bolivarian State
After Nicolás Maduro was kidnapped by US forces, Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s president. She has a long record in the Chavista camp, but she faces an uphill battle in dealing with her country’s compromised sovereignty.
Delcy and Jorge (L) Rodríguez are poised to begin a new leadership in Venezuela. (Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images)
The Triptych Room takes its name from three somber visions of power that bear down on the Federal Legislative Palace of Venezuela. They are glimpses into the intimate life of El Libertador, Simón Bolívar: a promise made to his mentor at Monte Sacro, a moment of introspection surrounded by weary troops, and his lonely death of tuberculosis in the Caribbean.
This January 5, framed by these sober scenes, Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Nicolás Maduro’s successor in a carefully orchestrated presidential inauguration. The whole world watched after Maduro had been captured by US forces and flown to New York to face charges of narco-terrorism. But this was also a family affair between the small group of people who have clung fiercely to power for almost thirty years.
From Childhood
To Rodríguez’s left stood Maduro’s only son — known as Nicolasito, a member of the National Assembly — who bore the Venezuelan Constitution on a red velvet cushion. Resting one hand on the book, Delcy rose the other in oath and looked up at her older brother, Jorge Rodríguez, who stood before her as president of the National Assembly. On the podium, Delcy and Jorge were poised to begin a new leadership, presided by Nicolasito as the figurative reembodiment of Maduro.
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