Interim President Rodriguez insists on holding control of Venezuela, not the US
JAKARTA - Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez insists that he is leading the country in full, responding to the United States (US) claim to control Caracas.
"I can say that I hold the presidency of Venezuela, as clearly stated in the Venezuelan constitution," Rodriguez told NBC News, quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Friday, February 13.
"And from the many jobs I have, from how busy I am, I can say this is a very, very heavy job and we carry it out completely from day to day," he said.
After President Nicolas Maduro was arrested by US forces in early January and taken to New York, Rodriguez moved to normalize relations with Washington under President Donald Trump while managing domestic pressure.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright arrived in Caracas on Wednesday to assess the country's oil industry and hold talks with Venezuela's interim government focused on a major overhaul of the energy sector to revitalize its economy and reintegrate its oil reserves into the global market.
Rodriguez also said Maduro remains the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
"I can say that President Nicolas Maduro is the legitimate president. I will say this as a lawyer, as I do. Both President Maduro and Cilia Flores, the first lady, are both innocent," he said.
"I have been invited to the United States. We are considering coming there after we establish this cooperation and we can move forward with everything," he said.
Regarding the possibility of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado returning to Venezuela, Rodriguez said: "Regarding her life, we don't understand why there is a fuss about it."
"Regarding his return to this country, he will have to answer to Venezuela. Why did he call for military intervention, why did he call for sanctions against Venezuela, and why did he celebrate the actions that took place in early January," he added.
Although Machado awarded Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, he has not managed to get full political support from him.