Delcy Rodríguez, the current executive vice president of Venezuela and Minister of Hydrocarbons, must immediately assume the presidency as acting president, following the extraction of President Maduro by special forces from the United States.
Writing: La Tabla/Data Journalism Platform 3 JAN 2026
Following the confirmation from the United States government that it executed the extraction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, a precise constitutional procedure is activated to guarantee the continuity of the State.
The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela of 1999 explicitly establishes the steps to follow in the event of an “absolute absence” of the chief executive.
📜 This is how presidential succession works in Venezuela, Article by Article
The process is primarily governed by Articles 231, 233, and 234 of the Constitution. The current situation—the capture and forced disappearance of the president—qualifies as an absolute absence, as defined by Article 233.
Article 233: Declaration of Absolute Absence
This article enumerates the causes for the absolute absence of the President of the Republic:
“Death, resignation, or dismissal decreed by a ruling of the Supreme Court of Justice; permanent physical or mental incapacity certified by a medical board designated by the Supreme Court of Justice, with the approval of the National Assembly; abandonment of office, declared as such by the National Assembly; as well as the popular revocation of their mandate.”
The disappearance and capture by a foreign power, preventing the exercise of their functions, is legally akin to the “abandonment of office” due to force majeure. In January 2019, the National Assembly used this same basis to declare the presidency vacant, claiming the “usurpation” of the position by Nicolás Maduro.
Article 233 and 234: Temporary Succession and Call for Elections
Once absolute absence is established, Article 233 dictates the procedure:
1. Immediate Succession: The Executive Vice President, Delcy Rodríguez, assumes the functions of the Presidency of the Republic temporarily.
2. Call for Elections: The new acting President is obligated to call for presidential elections within a period of 30 consecutive days.
3. Duration of the Mandate: The elected candidate in these elections will complete the original constitutional term. Since President Maduro began his term in January 2025, the newly elected president will conclude their mandate in January 2031.
Article 231: The Time Limit of the Assignment
This article establishes that the presidential term is six years. It reaffirms that, in this scenario, the president elected in the upcoming elections does not start a new term, but rather completes the one in progress.
⏳ Timeline and Practical Steps to Follow
· Step 1 (Immediate): Vice President Delcy Rodríguez assumes the Head of State and Government temporarily, as she has already been leading the institutional response after the attack.
· Step 2 (In the coming days): It is foreseeable that the National Assembly, in session, will formalize the declaration of “absolute absence” or “abandonment of the office” of President Maduro, based on the aforementioned articles.
· Step 3 (Within 30 days): Acting President Rodríguez must sign the decree calling for universal, direct, and secret presidential elections.
· Step 4 (Post-election): The winning candidate assumes the presidency and completes the term until 2031.
The current absence of the president is physical and involuntary and results from an act of force carried out by foreign agents.
The lack is not due to a national political conflict, and the succession would fall on the vice president designated by his own government. Therefore, a conflict over this point does not seem probable, since the forces supporting Maduro hold a majority in parliament.
The legitimacy of the process will depend on following all constitutional steps and the transparency of the electoral call. Despite the ongoing political crisis and accusations of opacity in voting processes, the self-exile of leading figures from that extremist opposition complicates any deep agreement on the matter.
🔄 No president but with a government
While the constitutional path is formalized, the high command of the Chavista government has shown a united response today. Before Vice President Rodríguez’s announcement, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello came out to call for calm and confirmed that the Armed Forces have been deployed to defend sovereignty. This demonstration of institutional continuity aims to prevent a power vacuum and discourage any attempts at internal destabilization.
So far, the constitutional government maintains its exercise of power in administrative and undoubtedly in political matters.