JAKARTA - Vice President and Minister of Oil of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, was officially inaugurated on Monday as interim president, as President Nicolas Maduro, ousted by the United States, appeared in a New York court on drug charges, after the Donald Trump administration ousted him from power through a military operation last weekend.
Rodriguez, a 56-year-old labor lawyer known for his close ties to the private sector and his loyalty to the ruling party, was sworn in by his brother, Jorge, who is head of the national assembly legislative body, Al Arabiya reported from Reuters (6/1).
Also sworn in on Monday were the 283 lawmakers elected last May. The only member of parliament who was not present was First Lady Cilia Flores, who is in US custody.
In Venezuela, an emergency order issued Monday ordered police to search for and arrest anyone who supported the US attack on Saturday.
After initially denouncing Maduro's arrest as a colonial oil grab and "kidnapping", Delcy Rodriguez softened her stance by saying forging a mutually respectful relationship with Washington was a priority.
"We invite the US government to cooperate in the agenda of cooperation," said Rodriguez.
"President Donald Trump, our people, and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war," he said.
President Trump has previously threatened to carry out another attack if Venezuela does not cooperate in opening its oil industry and stopping the circulation of drugs.
How the US will work with the post-Maduro government, which is full of ideological enemies, is still unclear. Trump seems to have temporarily set aside the Venezuelan opposition.
Rodriguez, the daughter of a leftist guerrilla hailed as a "female tiger" by Maduro, is also known as a pragmatist with good connections in the private sector and a belief in economic orthodoxy.
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