Caracas, 4 Jan

Venezuela's Supreme Court has directed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to assume the role of acting president following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, a move that has sharply intensified the country's ongoing political crisis.

The ruling, announced late Saturday local time, concluded that Maduro is in a "material and temporary impossibility to exercise his functions," CNN reported.

The decision was delivered during a televised court session, formally triggering constitutional provisions related to presidential absence.

Reading the order, Supreme Court Justice Tania D'Amelio said Rodriguez would "assume and exercise, as acting president, all the powers, duties, and faculties inherent to the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, in order to guarantee administrative continuity and the comprehensive defense of the nation."

Venezuela's constitution provides that in cases of temporary or permanent absence of the president, executive authority passes to the vice president, a provision the court cited in justifying its decision, CNN noted.

As the political transition unfolded in Caracas, US authorities began preparations to transfer Maduro to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in New York City.

The federal facility is widely criticised for overcrowding, chronic staffing shortages, inmate violence and infrastructure failures, according to CNN.

Built in the 1990s to address prison overcrowding, the MDC has previously held several high-profile detainees, including R. Kelly, Martin Shkreli, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried and Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Suspected cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia was also housed at the facility while awaiting trial on murder and drug trafficking charges.

The jail has repeatedly drawn scrutiny over inmate safety and living conditions.

In June 2024, an inmate was fatally stabbed, followed by another death during a fight a month later.

A major power outage in 2019 left detainees in darkness and freezing conditions for nearly a week, prompting a Justice Department investigation and a USD 10 million settlement for affected inmates, CNN reported.

The MDC is currently New York City's only federal detention centre following the closure of Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center after financier Jeffrey Epstein's death in 2019.

Back in Venezuela, the immediate aftermath of US military action, which included airstrikes and the detention of Maduro and his wife, initially triggered jubilation among opposition figures.

"Venezuelans, the hour of freedom has arrived," opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said, according to CNN.

That optimism, however, quickly faded after US President Donald Trump signalled reluctance to back Machado, instead indicating openness to working with Maduro ally Delcy Rodriguez.

Opposition-linked communication channels were largely silent for much of the day amid growing uncertainty.

Machado had called for the immediate installation of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as president and urged the armed forces to support him.

Gonzalez is recognised by many Western governments as the legitimate winner of Venezuela's disputed 2024 presidential election.

Addressing reporters later, Trump said he had not spoken with Machado and questioned her domestic standing, describing her as a "very nice woman" while asserting that she "doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country" to lead Venezuela, CNN reported.

Amid these developments, video released by US authorities showed the captured Venezuelan president in handcuffs during a staged perp walk.

In the footage, the deposed leader was seen wishing reporters and Drug Enforcement Administration agents a Happy New Year and Good Night.

Separately, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton told CNN that a plan to remove Maduro had been presented to Trump during his first term but failed to progress because officials were unable to keep the president "focused" on the issue.

Bolton said Trump had been "very interested in the Venezuelan oil" during his first term.

He added that while his team managed to engage Trump on the idea of removing Maduro, they "couldn't keep him focused on it."

Bolton also said the Venezuelan opposition at the time believed sustained economic pressure would be sufficient to fracture Maduro's regime.

According to CNN, the United States later launched what Trump described as a "large scale strike against Venezuela" and captured Maduro to face charges.

The regime change operation was carried out without congressional approval.