VENEZUELA MILITARY CALLS FOR CALM, RECOGNISES DELCY RODRIGUEZ AS ACTING PRESIDENT

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By: Sefiu Ajape

Venezuela’s military on Sunday said it recognised Delcy Rodriguez, the deputy to deposed president Nicolas Maduro, as the country’s acting leader following the extraction of the former head of state by US forces to face trial.

In a statement, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino endorsed a ruling of the Supreme Court appointing Rodriguez as acting president for a 90-day period.

The military leadership also appealed to citizens to return to their normal routines after US forces bombed parts of the country and seized Maduro.

“I call on the people of Venezuela to resume their activities of all kinds—economic, work and education—in the coming days,” Padrino said.
“The homeland must follow its constitutional course.”

Amid the uncertainty that followed the dramatic capture of the leftist president, Padrino appeared to publicly back Rodriguez, whom US President Donald Trump had earlier suggested Washington could engage with.

Appearing on television, Padrino read out the Supreme Court ruling confirming Rodriguez’s appointment as interim leader for 90 days.

He described the operation that led to Maduro’s arrest as a “cowardly kidnapping,” alleging that some of the former president’s bodyguards were killed “in cold blood,” alongside military personnel and civilians on the Venezuelan side.

Venezuelan authorities have yet to release an official casualty figure from the US operation.

Meanwhile, Caracas remained largely deserted on Sunday, with many businesses shut and only light queues seen at a few markets and pharmacies.