Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is reportedly in Russia following the United States’ seizure of President Nicolás Maduro early Saturday morning, according to Reuters, citing four sources.
The sources told Reuters she traveled to Russia hours after Trump announced Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces in an attack on Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a phone conversation with Rodriguez on Saturday, in which he expressed solidarity with Venezuela in the “face of armed aggression,” Russia-state outlet Tass reported. Several outlets, however, have reported that Tass called Rodriguez’s presence in Russia “fake.”
Newsweek has reached out to Russia’s Foreign Ministry for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Russia, a longtime ally of Venezuela, condemned the U.S. strikes in a Saturday statement, with the foreign ministry writing, Venezuela has the right to “determine its own future without destructive, let alone military, interference from outside.” Last year, Russia offered refuge to ousted longtime Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Parts of Caracas were hit by a U.S. “large scale strike.” Maduro, along with his wife, was captured and flown out of Venezuela following the U.S. military operation, Trump announced in a Truth Social post later on Saturday.
Maduro, his wife, and his son have been formally indicted in the Southern District of New York, including on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said. The president had previously been indicted in March 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges in the Southern District of New York, and in August 2025, the U.S. doubled its bounty to $50 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest. Maduro has denied any wrongdoing.
The operation comes after months of Trump’s large-scale U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean and South American waters, including the deployment of an aircraft carrier, fighter jets and tens of thousands of troops, as part of what his administration has framed as expanded counter-narcotics and sanctions enforcement.
What To Know
Maduro has repeatedly said the U.S.’s increasing pressure campaign, both military and diplomatic, on his government by the Trump administration, which included strikes on alleged narcotics vessels, was aimed at regime change. Under Venezuelan law, the country’s vice president, Rodríguez, would take power if Maduro had left the country, however, Reuters reported she is in Russia, leaving the country’s leadership in limbo.
Rodriguez’s brother, Jorge Rodriguez, head of the Venezuelan National Assembly, reportedly remained in Caracas, according to three sources with direct knowledge told Reuters.
Rodriguez addressed the nation in a televised audio message earlier on Saturday, demanding the Trump administration provide “proof of life” for President Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores.
The U.S. military operation ordered by Trump has intensified global tensions, spurred condemnation from Venezuela’s allies, and triggered uncertainty regarding the nation’s leadership and stability, particularly amid reports of Rodriguez out of the country.
Vente Venezuela party leader María Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, celebrated the U.S.’s operation in Spanish in a Saturday statement, saying, “This is the hour of the citizens,” noting that “today we are prepared to assert our mandate and take power.”
What People Are Saying
Edmundo González, the opposition candidate who was widely considered to have beaten Maduro in the 2024 election, wrote in Spanish in a Saturday X post: “Venezuelans, these are decisive hours, know that we are ready for the great operation of the reconstruction of our nation.”
Russia’s Foreign Ministry wrote in an X post on Saturday: “In view of the confirmed reports about Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse being in the US, we strongly urge the US leadership to reconsider their position & release the legitimately elected president of a sovereign country and his spouse.”
What Happens Next
In a press conference on Saturday, Trump announced the U.S. is “going to run the country until such time that we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
He also said that “we’re prepared to do a second wave, a much bigger wave,” but noted that given the success of the operation the nation “probably won’t need to.”
This is a breaking news story. Updates to come.
Update 1/3/2026, 12:23 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 1/3/2026, 11:48 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
