Venezuela’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) has ordered Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume the duties of president on an acting basis, citing what it defined as the forced absence of President Nicolás Maduro following his alleged kidnapping during a foreign military attack.
In a ruling issued on Saturday, the Constitutional Chamber instructed Rodríguez to “assume and exercise, in an acting capacity, all the attributions, duties and powers inherent to the office of President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,” in order to ensure administrative continuity and the country’s comprehensive defense.
Reading the decision, Constitutional Chamber President Tania D’Amelio Cardiet said the measure responds to the foreign military aggression reported on January 3, 2026, which, according to the court, “had as its objective the kidnapping of the constitutional president Nicolás Maduro Moro.” She stated that this situation constitutes a “forced absence” that “configures a scenario of material and temporary impossibility for the exercise of his functions.”
D’Amelio explained that the chamber acted under Article 335 of the Constitution, which grants it interpretative authority, to carry out a “systematic and teleological interpretation” of Articles 234 and 239. The purpose, she said, was to determine the legal framework applicable to guaranteeing continuity of the state and national defense. She added that the chamber proceeded ex officio, also invoking Article 5 of the Organic Law of the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, in order to “clarify and dispel any legal uncertainty” and establish a roadmap for preserving constitutional order.
According to the ruling, the events of January 3 constitute an “exceptional, atypical and force majeure situation not literally foreseen in the Constitution,” generating the need for “constitutional certainty due to the maximum gravity that threatens the stability of the State, national security and the effectiveness of the legal order.”
The court described its decision as an “urgent and preventive precautionary action,” adopted to guarantee the continuity of state administration and national defense. D’Amelio emphasized that the measure “does not imply deciding on the merits regarding the definitive legal classification of the temporary or absolute presidential absence, nor does it replace the competences of other state organs to make such a determination in subsequent procedures.”
The Constitutional Chamber concluded that there are “elements indicating the configuration of a situation of impossibility of the president,” as generally contemplated in Article 234 of the Constitution, and that Article 239 assigns the executive vice president the function of covering temporary presidential absences. In a context described as one of “manifest urgency and a certain threat,” the chamber deemed it “imperative, necessary and proportionate” for Rodríguez to assume the role immediately.
The decision was signed by the president and vice president of the Constitutional Chamber, its magistrates and the chamber’s secretary.