For the past three months, three pages of a fast‑tracked ruling by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court have been the legal scaffolding holding Delcy Rodríguez in Venezuela’s presidency. Rodríguez — who was Nicolás Maduro’s vice president until early 2026 — assumed the role of acting head of the executive branch thanks to an “urgent and preventive” injunction issued after the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3 by a U.S.‑dispatched commando in Caracas. Chavismo thus managed — with Donald Trump’s approval— to give a legal veneer to its continued hold on power.

The Venezuelan government is once again facing a crisis of legitimacy, but a call for elections does not appear to be on the agenda. The Supreme Court — which for years has been subservient to the executive — decided to classify Maduro’s removal from power as a “forced absence,” a category not found in the Constitution and one that reopens the debate over the legal footing supporting Delcy Rodríguez’s presidency.

“The original sin lies in that ruling,” says Juan Carlos Apitz, dean of the Faculty of Legal Sciences at the Central University of Venezuela. “This is an evasive ruling, and it deliberately avoids classifying the situation as a permanent or temporary vacancy — and that is no accident. Labeling it one way or the other would trigger constitutional deadlines: 90 days, extendable, in the case of a temporary absence, or elections within 30 days in the case of a permanent vacancy. It is undeniable that a permanent vacancy already exists, because it is not reasonable to expect Maduro to return to the country anytime soon,” the academic adds.

Last week, Nicolás Maduro and his wife had their second hearing in the New York court where they face narcoterrorism charges. Their lawyers sought to have the case thrown out, arguing that the defendants could not pay for their legal defense because the U.S. Treasury Department had frozen their assets. Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the motion, and the case is moving forward.

The Venezuelan Supreme Court’s ruling states that swearing in Delcy Rodríguez did not amount to “a substantive decision on the definitive legal classification of the presidential vacancy (temporary or permanent).” The country’s highest court made it explicit that, until further notice, Venezuelan institutional life is tied to those three pages — and that, for now, the legal uncertainty will remain unresolved.

Meanwhile, in the streets, political parties are protesting to demand a new National Electoral Council (CNE) and for elections to be called. Yet this issue is rarely addressed by either U.S. or Venezuelan officials.

The NGO Provea warned over the weekend that the extension of Rodríguez’s interim presidency must have a limit. It stressed that the Supreme Court’s silence on her continued tenure is not “a neutral omission” but rather “a political decision.” “Three months ago, the Supreme Court appointed Delcy Rodríguez as interim president of Venezuela after Maduro’s arrest by the United States, describing the situation as a ‘forced absence,’ a term that does not exist in the Constitution and is used to circumvent its mechanisms,” the organization warned in a statement.

According to the Constitution, the periods during which the executive vice president may temporarily assume the presidency are up to 90 days in the event of a temporary vacancy, extendable for another 90, with an absolute maximum of 180 days. “The first period has already expired. After 90 days, the National Assembly may declare a permanent vacancy. After 180, it is obliged to do so. That would require calling elections within 30 days,” Provea notes. In theory, Rodríguez’s second and final period would expire on July 5. “Venezuelans have the right to decide. A permanent vacancy is not a technicality but a mechanism that returns power to the people. We have the right to democratic elections; the constitutional clock is ticking.”

The deadlines, however, appear to be frozen. Rodríguez’s legitimacy at this point rests on the backing and oversight of the United States, which has recognized her as an authority before the Department of Justice, with the power to act on Venezuela’s behalf. Last week, the U.S. also lifted the sanctions imposed on her since 2018.

This fragile institutional framework is nothing new for Venezuelans, who have been trapped for years in the labyrinth of political change. In 2019, Juan Guaidó’s interim government was installed, along with its diplomatic missions and parallel governing bodies, relying on constitutional loopholes to declare the absence of a president (that of a legitimately elected leader, after Maduro was re‑elected in 2018 amid allegations of fraud). This move was backed by Donald Trump and several other governments around the world.

A new leadership

Over the past three months, Delcy Rodríguez has reshuffled more than half of the cabinet she inherited from Maduro and is trying to recast her leadership as an ally of the United States and a promoter of democratic coexistence in the country. To that end, she approved an amnesty law and ordered the release of dozens of political prisoners — a process that remains incomplete.

At the beginning of Easter Week, she appeared at a public event where posters displayed the slogan “Delcy, move forward, you have my confidence” in blue and light colors — instead of the characteristic red of the Chavismo movement. This was seen as a sign that the president is in campaign mode. Rodríguez has also begun purging key figures loyal to Maduro, though it remains unclear whether this is part of a transition shaped in Washington or a reshuffling within Chavismo.

Among the most notable changes is the removal of Tarek William Saab and Alfredo Ruiz — key political operatives of Chavismo — from the front lines of the official structure. Saab is now in charge of a government program to promote Venezuelan cultural traditions.

Also pending is the renewal of the Supreme Court’s body of justices, which is in a kind of operational paralysis, Apitz notes, warning that the issue is more political than legal. A potential call for elections, meanwhile, is also pending.

“When the U.S. government orders it, elections will be held. The United States does not recognize Nicolás Maduro and recognizes Delcy Rodríguez only circumstantially,” Apitz stresses. “But there is also immense pressure from oil and mining companies for political and legal certainty so they can make the investments that are expected. These companies see a social powder keg in Venezuela that could explode at any moment. That’s why the date of those elections will be the death certificate of Chavismo.”

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