Both allies and adversaries of the US used the meeting to voice opposition to the military action, with countries blasting US President Donald Trump’s intervention in the South American country and his comments afterwards signalling the possibility of expanding military action to countries such as Colombia and Mexico over drug trafficking accusations.
Rodríguez was sworn in by her brother, Jorge, at the National Assembly.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez (left) with Nicolás Maduro Guerra and Jorge Rodríguez after being sworn in as acting president.Credit: Getty Images
“I come with sorrow for the suffering inflicted upon the Venezuelan people following an illegitimate military aggression against our homeland,” she said, right hand raised. “I come with sorrow for the kidnapping of two heroes.”
Rodríguez has – at least for now – the backing of both the Chavismo strongholds in her government and Trump, who has said she would work with Washington to “make Venezuela great again”.
She struck a conciliatory tone on Sunday, asking the US to work with her country on a co-operation agenda, after Trump threatened hours after Maduro’s ousting that she could “pay a very big price” if she did not fall in line with US demands.
Her biggest public endorsement from within Venezuela came from Maduro’s son, who said he would “unconditionally support” her and echoed her call for foreign investment based on respect. He said he’d had indirect communication with his father, Venezuela’s authoritarian leader for 13 years.
Nicolás Maduro Guerra and Yosser Gavidia Flores, son of Cilia Flores, unveil a picture of their parents at the National Assembly on Monday.Credit: Getty Images
“To you, Delcy, my unconditional support. Count on me and my family,” Nicolás Maduro Guerra said, while tearfully describing what he called difficult hours for his family.
He warned that the capture of his father could set a dangerous precedent globally and demanded that his parents be returned.
“If we normalise the kidnapping of a head of state, no country is safe. Today, it’s Venezuela. Tomorrow, it could be any nation that refuses to submit. This is not a regional problem. It is a direct threat to global political stability,” Maduro Guerra, 34, said.
Often referred to as “Nicolasito”, Maduro Guerra is Maduro’s only son and is frequently seen alongside him at political rallies and public events. He has served in the National Assembly since 2021 and the ruling party has promoted him as part of a younger generation of leaders.
Pro-government armed civilians attend a protest in Caracas on Sunday.Credit: AP
US allies push back on Venezuela
While French President Emmanuel Macron recently endorsed Maduro’s capture, its UN envoy was slightly more critical at the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.
It said any violations of international law by the five permanent members of the security council, which includes the US, erodes “the very foundation of the international order”.
“The military operation that has led to the capture of Maduro runs counter to the principle of peace dispute resolution and runs counter to the principle of non-use of force,” said Jay Dharmadhikari, deputy French ambassador to the UN.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “I am deeply concerned about the possible intensification of instability in the country, the potential impact on the region, and the precedent it may set for how relations between and among states are conducted.”
Michael Waltz, the US ambassador to the UN, addresses the Security Council.Credit: AP
But US envoy Mike Waltz defended the attack as a justified and “surgical law enforcement operation”, and called out the 15-member council for criticising the targeting of Maduro.
“If the United Nations in this body confers legitimacy on an illegitimate narco-terrorist with the same treatment in this charter of a democratically elected president or head of state, what kind of organisation is this?” said Waltz, who is Trump’s former national security adviser.
Denmark, which has jurisdiction over Greenland, carefully denounced US prospects for taking over the Danish territory – a wish repeated by Trump at the weekend – without mentioning its NATO ally by name.
“The inviolability of borders is not up for negotiation,” Danish ambassador to the UN Christina Markus Lassen said.
She also defended Venezuela’s sovereignty: “No state should seek to influence political outcomes in Venezuela through the use of threat of force or through other means inconsistent with international law.”
China, Russia are expectedly critical
The biggest critics of US foreign policy, China and Russia, which are also permanent members of the security council, called for the UN body to unite in rejecting America turning back to an “era of lawlessness”.
Maduro, like his predecessor, forged a close relationship with Russia, while China was the main destination for most Venezuelan oil.
Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores (right) are handcuffed at a New York heliport before their transfer to the court.Credit: GC Images
“We cannot allow the United States to proclaim itself as some kind of a supreme judge, which alone bears the right to invade any country, to label culprits, to hand down and to enforce punishments irrespective of notions of international law, sovereignty and non-intervention,” Russian ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said.
Nearby, Maduro and Flores appeared in a New York courthouse on Monday where they were indicted on numerous charges, including narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine.
Handcuffed and surrounded by heavily armed federal agents and NYPD police officers, they were taken from their prison cells at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn and flown about nine kilometres by helicopter to a helipad in Wall Street, from which they were transported in an armoured truck the short distance to the court precinct in Lower Manhattan.
Scores of heavily armed agents and NYPD police officers guarded them as the transfer took place.
A court sketch of Maduro and Flores in court with their lawyers.Credit: AP
Maduro was shackled at the ankles as he pleaded not guilty to the numerous charges, telling the judge: “I am innocent, I am not guilty. I am a decent man.”
The ousted leader also said his capture was a kidnapping. “I’m the president of the Republic of Venezuela … I am here kidnapped … I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela,” he said before District Judge Alvin Hellerstein cut him off.
Loading
Maduro and Flores were extradited to the US on Saturday night following their dramatic capture, which had been months in the planning. It has emboldened Trump, who implied on Monday AEDT that he could take military action in Colombia and Greenland, and told Mexico to get its “act together”.
AP, Bloomberg
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
‘I come with sorrow’: Rodríguez sworn in with blessing of Maduro’s son
