The events in Venezuela have implications across the regionpublished at 19:17 GMT
19:17 GMT
Will Grant
Reporting from Cúcuta, Colombia
When Delcy Rodríguez was promoted to vice-president by Maduro in 2018, it is unlikely she ever imagined being sworn into office under these circumstances.
As her predecessor faced drug-trafficking charges in a US courtroom, she appeared before a packed chamber of the National Assembly as only the third person – barring a short-lived coup in 2002 – to govern the oil-rich nation this century.
The clear intention has been to transmit an impression of business as usual, and her tone towards the Trump administration has softened considerably since the US forcibly removed Maduro from power, speaking of sharing an “agenda of cooperation” with Washington in her first cabinet.
But the events in Caracas are having major implications beyond Venezuela, too. With Trump accusing the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, of trafficking cocaine to the US – something he has robustly denied.
Trump has stated that another US military operation, this time in Colombia, “sounded good” to him.
Meanwhile Venezuela’s closest regional ally, Cuba, begins two days of national mourning for 32 Cubans who were killed in the US raid. “Cuba is ready to fall,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.