Delcy Rodriguez formally sworn in as Venezuela's interim president

CARACAS,  Venezuela 

Venezuela's vice president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez was formally sworn in on Monday as the country's interim president, as U.S.-deposed President Nicolas Maduro appeared in a New York court on drug charges, after the Trump administration removed him from power in a dramatic weekend military action.

Rodriguez, a 56-year-old labor lawyer known for close connections to the private sector and her devotion to the ruling party, was sworn in by her brother Jorge, who is the head of the national assembly legislature. 

Also sworn in on Monday were 283 lawmakers elected last May. 

Just a small number of them are classed as opposition - most of the opposition, especially the faction directed by Nobel Prize winner Machado, boycotted the contest. 

The only lawmaker not in attendance was first lady Cilia Flores, who is in U.S. custody.

Who is Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's new interim leader?

Delcy Rodríguez, at least for now, has taken over as leader of Venezuela after her ally Nicolás Maduro was captured by the United States in a military operation and flown to New York City to face a criminal indictment.

On Saturday, Venezuela's high court ordered Rodríguez to assume the role of interim president, and the leader was backed by Venezuela's military. She was sworn in Monday.

"I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland," she said with her right hand raised. "I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes."

Rodríguez had served as Maduro's vice-president since 2018, overseeing much of Venezuela's oil-dependent economy and its intelligence service, and was next in the presidential line of succession. Between 2014 and 2017, she served as the country's foreign minister.

While Donald Trump has railed against the Maduro regime since his first term as U.S. president, Rodríguez is part of a band of senior officials in Maduro's administration that now appear to control Venezuela, with Trump appearing to rule out an immediate role for the country's conservative political opposition figures.

During the first Trump administration, Rodríguez was among a number of officials who faced U.S. sanctions. In 2018, the U.S. cited Rodríguez for helping Maduro "maintain power and solidify his authoritarian rule," blocking entry to the U.S. and any financial transactions involving Rodríguez and American individuals or entities.

A year earlier, she was among those hit by sanctions from the Canadian government on similar grounds.

Rodríguez, a 56-year-old lawyer and politician, has had a lengthy career representing the socialist revolution started by Maduro's predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez.

Rodríguez held a number of lower-level positions under Chávez's government but gained prominence working under Maduro to the point of being seen as his successor. 

At various times, she served as the foreign affairs minister and petroleum minister, among other posts, to help stabilize Venezuela's endemically crisis-stricken economy after years of rampant inflation and turmoil.